Mystery shrouds woman banker's death

Mystery shrouds the death of Soumya, 32, who was working as assistant manager with a leading private bank in the city. The woman’s body was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her Vijayanagar house on Saturday night.

Srirangaraju, husband of Soumya, claimed that his wife had committed suicide, but the dead woman’s grandfather has accused Srirangaraju of murdering her. The couple worked with Shamrao Vittal Cooperative Bank Ltd. They lived at Siddeshwranagar on Marenahalli Main Road, Vijaynagar. They have two sons, aged 13 and five.

In his statement to the Vijayanagar police, Srirangaraju said when he returned home on Saturday night, no one answered his calls to open the door. He forced the door open to find Soumya’s body hanging from the ceiling fan in the hall.  He rushed her to a nearby private hospital and she was declared brought dead on arrival. He claimed that his sons were asleep in the bedroom.

Boregowda, Soumya's grandfather, who visited the hospital around Saturday midnight, lodged a complaint with the police, claiming that his granddaughter was murdered by her husband.

He said Srirangaraju was suspended by the bank on a charge of financial misappropriation, and harassed Soumya for money. Boregowda alleged that Srirangaraju has beaten Soumya to death and later hanged the body from the fan with her dupatta.
The  Vijaynagar Police have registered a case of murder and detained Srirangaraju for questioning.

Police said they found many discrepancies in Srirangaraju’s statement.  They are not ready to believe the claim that the two children, who were sleeping in the bedroom, did not hear any commotion when the incident occurred. The police said the children would also be questioned. They are awaiting the autopsy report to ascertain the cause of death.