Bengaluru Cops Identify Suspect After Woman's Body Parts Found In Fridge

The prime suspect in Bengaluru's chilling murder, in which pieces of a woman's body were found in a fridge, has been identified and efforts are on to arrest him, city police commissioner B Dayanand said today. "It is being investigated from all angles. The prime suspect has been identified and efforts are underway to arrest him," the city police chief told the media. "He's an outsider. We can't give more information as of now as it may help the accused," he added.

Earlier today, state Home Minister G Parameshwara said police have collected a lot of information regarding the woman's death. "The police have collected a lot of information, a lot of clues. One individual has also been... Unless we collect more information, we can't really say. He is from West Bengal, they say," he told reporters.  

Responding to the question on the state government's steps to enhance women's safety, the minister said, "We have already taken a lot of precautions for women's safety. We are very mindful about it."

Thirty-odd pieces of a woman's body were found in the fridge of her Bengaluru home on Saturday. The woman, Mahalakshmi, stayed alone in the single-bedroom house.

Senior police officer N Satheesh Kumar said Mahalakshmi was originally from another state but had been living in Karnataka. She worked in a mall. Her husband works in another city.

When the police found the pieces of her body, they had decomposed and infested with worms. They suspect that she was murdered at least two weeks before the body parts were found.

The incident has sparked a massive political row, with the Opposition BJP targeting the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.

"Under @INCKarnataka rule, appeasement policies have led to a complete collapse of law and order. The brutal murder of Mahalakshmi by Ashraf is a clear reminder that Kannadigas are no longer safe in this Hitler-led @siddaramaiah government," BJP Karnataka said in a post on X.