Bengaluru has been shaken by a murder. A 43-year-old government employee from the Karnataka Department of Mines and Geology was discovered dead at her south Bengaluru home on Sunday.
Prathima KS identified the victim. Her throat was slashed when she was discovered at her Doddakallasandra home within the Subramanyapura police boundaries. One day later, a driver who was fired from the department a few days prior was taken into custody as a suspect.
Here is what we currently know about the murder case.
Prathima KS: Who was she?
Prathima KS, a 45-year-old geologist, worked in the department of mines and geology in Karnataka. She worked as a senior geologist in the city and lived alone in a two-story house.
Her spouse, Suryanarayan, works as a farmer and lives close to Thirthahalli in the Shivamogga area, 300 kilometres away from Bengaluru. He taught elementary school before. Their sixteen-year-old son attends a Mangaluru school.
Family members refuted the police’s claim that the couple was not on speaking terms. The Times of India was informed by Prathima’s relative Vishnu, “We’re shocked Prathima was murdered.” She had no problems with her relatives. She was an adventurous and assiduous official.
Last month, the geologist allegedly received orders to raid unlicensed mining operations. She also looked at a few well-known incidents, including one involving unlawful quarrying.
The News Minute reported that Prathima physically inspected a quarrying site and then filed a complaint with the government claiming a loss of Rs 25.35 lakh. An FIR was then lodged against three more people including a BJP MLA.
According to her coworkers, Prathima is bold and proactive. The woman, according to Dinesh, who worked closely with her, has been conducting raids lately. Prathibha was an extremely vibrant woman. And she was incredibly courageous. Dinesh, a senior officer in the agency, told India Today that “she earned a great reputation in the department, be it raids or any action.”
She didn’t create any adversaries. He said, “She performed her job successfully and built a solid reputation in accordance with the new guidelines.
Dayananda KA, Bengaluru Urban’s deputy commissioner, claims that Prathima was not under any strain at work. She had told him about the “challenges being faced to control the entry of lorries from Tamil Nadu” when they had just met for work.
She was an enthusiastic, proactive cop. In our review meeting one month prior, we had instructed her to rein in illicit mining. The top official who attended the crime scene was quoted by The Indian Express as saying, “The focus was to monitor the lorries transporting gravel stones from Tamil Nadu.”
Prathima had to travel throughout the city for business, particularly to the more remote parts. She has four years of job experience in Bengaluru. She graduated from a Shivamogga college with a master’s degree.
What is known about the murder?
On Saturday, Prathima worked till six o’clock in the evening and left for her home at eight. She was driven off in a business car.
On Sunday, at roughly 8.30 am, the murder was discovered. The police said that on Saturday night, Prathima had contacted her younger brother, a contractor in the civil engineering field. On Saturday, he called his sister again, but she did not pick up. When he contacted her again on Sunday, her phone was not in use. He discovered Prathima dead when he arrived at her home.
An officer stated, “The grill door [of her house] was latched from inside but anyone could have done it by inserting their hands in the gap.”
The geologist was discovered dead on the floor by Subramanyapura Police. “Her throat has been cut, and it appears that no valuables have disappeared from her residence,” a police officer stated. There was a murder case filed.
Based on her office identity card, Prathima was employed by the Karnataka Department of Mines and Geology as a senior geologist.
It was discovered after more research that Prathima had been killed inside her room. She was slashed across the throat after being strangled. “The post-mortem report is being awaited.” No valuables have gone missing, and there was no forced entry into the home. The Indian Express cited a top police officer as stating, “Someone who knows her has entered the house and killed her.”
Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), stated, “We suspect she might have been murdered at night.” Three groups have been established to conduct the investigations.
And why was Prathima murdered?
For the murder, the authorities detained the former driver.
Commissioner B Dayanand of the Bengaluru police said that a suspect was apprehended in relation to the homicide investigation. “It was probably seven or ten days earlier that he was removed from his work as a driver,” he informed the journalists.
According to individuals who spoke to NDTV, Kiran, Prathima’s former driver, has admitted to his crime. For the previous five years, he was a government employee on a contract. The department requested him to leave, and he turned off his phone.
Kiran went to Prathima’s house, the police said, to ask that he be employed back. The driver was desperate to get his job back, had financial difficulties, and his wife was pregnant, according to an official close to the investigation who spoke with News18.
Additionally, according to police, Kiran was in an accident two months ago. According to News18, there was a suspicion that he was disclosing information about upcoming raids by Prathima’s department on unlawful mining operations.
According to reports, the driver was anticipating Prathima’s Saturday return home. At her apartment, he confronted her and, in a fit of rage, strangled her. Then, to give the impression that there had been a botched heist, he grabbed a knife from the kitchen.
According to the NDTV story, Kiran then ran away to Chamarajanagar, which is about 200 kilometres from Bengaluru.
Justice for the deceased woman is what Karnataka Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah has sworn to deliver.
