Ex-journalist found hanging

Smitha Rao, 32, a content writer with Infosys, lived in a third-floor flat of Mantri Splendour apartments.

Police said Smitha’s husband Rohit, who works in a multinational company on Old Madras Road, left home at 8.15 am without having breakfast after a quarrel with his wife. Within a couple of hours, he got a call on his mobile from Smitha saying: “I love you a lot, and this will be the last time I will be talking to you. Good bye.”

Alarmed, Rohit rushed back home and found that the door was locked from outside. He broke open a sliding window and entered the house, only to find Smitha hanging from a hook on the ceiling of their bedroom.

He immediately brought her down, called an ambulance and rushed her to a private hospital, where the doctors declared her brought dead.

Smitha’s parents, Padmaja Rao and Jayasheela Rao, blame Rohit for their daughter’s suicide. Based on Padmaja’s complaint, the Hennur police have registered a case of dowry harassment and are investigating.

Rao’s eldest daughter Smitha married Rohit from Mysore four years ago. Their second daughter, Ashita, works for a private firm. They reside in Shankar Nagar in Mahalaxmi Layout.

An autopsy was conducted at Ambedkar Hospital and it is learnt that there were no external injuries on the body.

However, police are questioning Rohit why he broke open the window to enter the house and moved the body to a hospital instead of calling the police station which was close by.
He has told the police that their maid Gayatri was at their house when he left in the morning. The maid’s statements are likely to be crucial. The police are also looking into the couple’s e-mails.

Rohit has admitted that there were differences between him and his wife, but maintained that Smitha’s parents were aware of the marital discord. He also said Smitha was seeking psychiatric help at Nimhans.

Smitha joined Infosys in June 2010 as a content writer and was handling online content for the company’s official website. Prior to that, she worked in an English newspaper, a tabloid and a local English news channel. Before joining Infosys, she had gone to Milan in Italy on a teaching fellowship for 10 months from October 2008 to July 2009.

Infants’ body found

The bodies of two infants, a girl and a boy, were found near a public toilet at EWS Colony on Monday morning. Unable to identify the bodies, the Adugodi police handed them over to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Public catch thieves

Alert public caught eight people dressed as devotees of Lord Ayyappa, who were trying to rob houses in Pantarpalya on Monday.

The gang was caught trying to break into a house. However, two of them managed to escape. The residents immediately alerted Byatarayanapura police, who reached the spot and arrested them.

DCP (West) Siddramappa said that the police are verifying the authenticity of the claims of the residents and are questioning the accused. It is suspected that the gang had broken into houses in Vinayaka Layout and Nayandahalli too.