In a non-descript bylane of the predominantly middle-class area of Vyalikaval in Bengaluru, an alarming situation was unfolding on the afternoon of September 21. Concerned about a persistent odour that was quickly turning into a stench assailing a three-storeyed residential building on the street, the owner of the building, Jayaram, zeroed in on the rented one-bedroom house on the first floor but found it locked from the outside. When the door was finally opened, what he found inside was horrifying—an overpowering stench of putrefaction, a large pool of congealed blood stains on the floor that had attracted maggots by the plenty.
But that was not all. Jayaram realised the stench was primarily emanating from a small 165-litre refrigerator and was still hoping that it was spoilt food that was the problem. What he found inside instead was a human body, dismembered and stuffed in the cooling unit. Soon, the body was identified to be that of the tenant, Mahalakshmi, a 29-year-old woman who had moved in five months earlier.
Hailing from Nelamangala, on the outskirts of the city, Mahalakshmi had moved to Vyalikaval after a marital dispute with her husband, Hemant Das. The couple had a four-year-old child, police said. Neighbours who spoke to TNM, described Mahalakshmi as a quiet, reserved woman who kept to herself, rarely interacting with anyone in the building. She was said to be employed at a mall.
“She left for work every day at around 9:30 am and returned late in the evening. So when the strong smell started a couple of days before, we never connected it to her house. At first, we dismissed it as spoilt food left too long in the heat. But as it grew stronger, we knew something was terribly wrong,” a neighbour said.
Jayaram, who had called Mahalakshmi’s mother and sister when he found the door locked, informed the Vyalikaval police around 2:30 pm. The house was quickly cordoned off, and forensic experts, accompanied by a dog squad, arrived at 4.30 pm. Officers worked until midnight, collecting and cataloguing the remains. Police retrieved 28 body parts from the 165-litre refrigerator, but it remains unclear if more remains are to be discovered. According to the police, the murder took place around four to five days ago.
The gruesomeness of the scene left even seasoned police officers shaken. An officer at the scene remarked that he had never come across anything so brutal in his 19 years of service. He said that the body had not significantly decomposed as it was preserved by the refrigerator.
Mahalakshmi’s brother, Sunil, expressed his shock and disbelief. At present, the family is unable to point out any suspects. The police have also released very few details, stating only that the investigation is ongoing.