Woman geologist found murdered at her residence in Bengaluru

Hyderabad: In a shocking development, a female Karnataka government officer was killed by a group of unknown persons at her Bengaluru residence. The deceased has been identified as K S Pratima, a 43-year-old senior geologist who worked with the Mines and Geology Department.

The incident, which came to light on Sunday morning, occurred in Doddakallasandra’s Kuvempu Nagar where the victim lived with her son in a rented house in the first floor of a building. According to police, the crime might have been committed late on Saturday night after she returned home.

Attackers strangulated her before they slit her throat, officials told the agency. A senior officer said the woman's brother had called her on Saturday night as well as Sunday morning, however, on receiving no response, he went to visit her. “When he came to visit, he found the body. We have checked the CCTV at the entrance of the road,” the senior officer said.

“She has been living there for eight years and she was living with her son. This is a rented house. She was doing well with everyone, there were no problems with anyone,” said Suresh, a neighbour of the victim.

Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad, the DCP for Bengaluru South also spoke to the media and said, “As usual, around 8 pm on Saturday, the deceased Pratima returned home. As she did not respond to phone calls last night and this morning, her elder brother came to her house to check and got to know about her murder. He informed the police.”

“Forensic and technical teams are at work on the spot. Three teams have been formed for investigation. We will be able to share further information, once we get to know exactly what happened,” he added. There was no theft of any jewellery or valuables from her residence, he further stated.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also assured an inquiry into the incident, saying, “I just got to know about it. We will inquire into it. It seems that she was staying alone (in Bengaluru), while her husband was in his native village. The reason is not yet known, we will inquire into it.”

Inputs from PTI