Bengaluru Surgeon Accused Of Killing Doctor Wife Using Anaesthesia

Six months after the death of his doctor wife, a husband and fellow doctor has been arrested for her alleged murder in Bengaluru.

It is being alleged that the husband, Dr Mahendra Reddy, a general surgeon, overdosed his wife on an anaesthetic drug at their home in the Munnekollal locality in the eastern part of the city. The incident took place on April 21.

The wife, Dr Kruthika Reddy, a dermatologist, reportedly fell ill and was rushed to a nearby hospital by her husband. The doctors at the hospital declared her brought dead.

A case of unnatural death was initially registered at the Marathahalli Police Station.

The couple got married on May 26 last year and were both doctors at Victoria Hospital.

During the inspection at their home, the Scene of Crime Officer (SOCO) recovered key evidence, including a cannula set, injection tube, and other medical items. These items were handed over to investigators for forensic analysis.

Viscera samples were collected and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to determine the cause of death.

The FSL report later confirmed the presence of Propofol, a powerful anaesthetic drug, in the victim's organs, indicating a criminal act.

Based on this report, the victim's father filed a complaint on October 13, alleging that his son-in-law had murdered his daughter using the anaesthetic agent.

Acting swiftly, Marathahalli Police arrested the accused from Manipal, a university town in coastal Karnataka, on October 14.

Police suspect that the accused had used his medical expertise to make the death appear natural.

"Evidence collected till now points at the role of the husband in the crime, as he was the person who brought her to the hospital initially and didn't mention anything that could have gone wrong. He claimed she was not in good health and was undergoing treatment, now we have learnt that she was injected with some sedatives, which shows there was a malafide intention, therefore this needs to be investigated," said Seemanth Kumar Singh, Bengaluru Police Commissioner.

The accused is currently under police custody, and further investigation is in progress.

The case has sparked widespread shock across the medical community, with police probing whether the accused had planned the act in advance.