Bengaluru Police to seek techie’s custody who slit wife’s throat, stuffed body in trolley bag
Bengaluru: The Bengaluru Police are preparing to take custody of the techie accused of slitting his wife’s throat and stuffing her body into a suitcase. The accused, 36-year-old Rakesh Rajendra Khedkar, is currently lodged in Bengaluru Central Prison.
Karnataka Police took him into custody on Saturday after he was discharged from a hospital in Pune. He was produced before the magistrate at the latter’s residence on Saturday night and was subsequently remanded to 14 days of judicial custody. The Hulimavu police, who are investigating the case, have now made arrangements to take him into custody on a body warrant on Tuesday (April 1).
Preliminary investigations suggest that the accused committed the horrific crime in a fit of rage. However, he has not yet disclosed the exact motive behind the murder of his 32-year-old wife, Gauri Rajendra Khedkar, who was also his close relative.
Rakesh’s father, Rajendra Khedkar, stated that the deceased Gauri was his sister’s daughter. He added that their family had disapproved of Rakesh and Gauri’s marriage. Gauri had been frequently quarrelling with both families over their marriage, and the disputes had even reached the police station. According to him, the quarrels continued even after their marriage.
Police say that the accused appears remorseful and has been mostly silent. Once they take him into custody, they expect to uncover the exact motive and details of how the crime was committed.
The preliminary investigation into the murder of a housewife, whose body was stuffed into a trolley bag in Bengaluru, has indicated that the crime was committed by her techie husband in a fit of rage.
The Karnataka Police successfully tracked the accused, who had gone into a state of repentance and consumed poison to end his life. Acting swiftly, they coordinated with the Maharashtra Police, detained him near Pune, and shifted him to a hospital.
Karnataka Police remained in contact with the accused husband, who had gone on the run after killing his wife. They maintained communication with him until his arrest by the Maharashtra Police in Pune.
According to the investigation, Rakesh slit the throat of his wife, Gauri, and stabbed her in the abdomen at their residence. He then folded her legs and stuffed her body into a trolley bag. After cleaning the house with phenyl, he placed the bag near the toilet room and fled.
The gruesome crime came to light on March 20. After committing the murder, the accused told some carpenters living nearby that his wife had committed suicide. He then called the police control room, his landlord, and his wife’s parents to confess to the crime.
As he continued making calls while on the run, the police managed to track him using the contact number available with the control room. They remained in communication with him while coordinating with the Maharashtra Police, providing his location to facilitate his arrest.
Sources reveal that DCP (South East) Sarah Fathima was in direct contact with Rakesh and played a key role in ensuring his detention in Pune and subsequent hospitalization.
The accused demanded that an FIR be registered before he surrendered. The Karnataka Police complied with his request, but he later lost connection. However, investigators discovered that he was using another SIM card to make calls to his friends from the same mobile phone, allowing them to keep track of him.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Gauri had quarrelled with her in-laws and had persuaded her husband to move from Maharashtra to Bengaluru. The couple lived in a modest locality and did not interact with their neighbours. Residents of the area told police that whenever they saw the couple, they were usually holding hands and walking together.
Further investigations suggest that Rakesh was frustrated with Gauri for not securing a job, leading to frequent arguments. During one such altercation, he slapped her, prompting her to throw a knife at him, causing an injury. Enraged, he then slit her throat and repeatedly stabbed her in the abdomen.
