53-year-old murder suspect dies in Police Custody

A 53-year-old retired army man, who murdered his wife, died under mysterious circumstances while in police custody in Ramamurthynagar on Monday.

The accused, Krishnamurthy Naidu, was being escorted by the police to a location in Kalkere, where he is said to have discarded the murder weapon -- a knife, with which he slit his wife Mekala Devi’s (50) throat on November 20.

According to the police, during the spot-inspection, Krishnamurthy developed a chest pain, and requested the police team to take him to a hospital. He was taken to a private hospital in Ramamurthynagar, where he was declared brought dead.

“He complained of chest pain and was shifted to Koshy’s Hospital where he died,” said Rahul Kumar Shahapurwade, Deputy Commissioner of Police, East Division. Since it is a custodial death, the CID will initiate a probe. Krishnamurthy’s body was shifted to Bowring Hospital for autopsy.

The Ramamurthynagar police, probing the murder of Mekala Devi, had picked up her husband for questioning on Sunday, a senior police officer said. Initially, Krishnamurthy was the complainant in the case, the police said. But they suspected that he had manipulated the crime scene making it look like a murder for gain. Mekala Devi’s body was found with her throat slit, and her gold chain missing.

During the course of the investigation, the police learnt that Mekala Devi had earlier filed complaints against Krishnamurthy’s family over domestic disputes. Krishnamurthy was a lift operator while his wife was a homemaker.

When the police analysed CCTV footage, Krishnamurthy was seen lurking near his house during the time of his wife’s murder. But, while filing the complaint, he had told the police that he was away. The police verified and corroborated this to corner Krishnamurthy. Thereafter, he confessed that he had in fact killed his wife.

Krishnamurthy was arrested on December 2, 2018.