Bengaluru, India — A harrowing tale unfolded in Bengaluru when a man, identified as Mukti Ranjan Roy, killed his girlfriend Mahalaxmi, dismembered her body, and later committed suicide, leaving behind a note claiming he acted in self-defense fearing she would kill him first. This incident has sent shockwaves through the community as investigators piece together the events that led to this gruesome act.
Mahalaxmi, who was last seen at her workplace on September 1, was found deceased in her own home weeks later under chilling circumstances. According to police, her dismembered body was discovered in her refrigerator on September 21, after neighbors reported a foul odor emanating from her residence and alerted her family.
The unraveling of this tragedy began when law enforcement traced Roy to Bhadrak, Odisha. However, upon arriving, they found that Roy had already ended his life. Found near his body was a suicide note which provided a disturbing account of his actions and his tumultuous relationship with Mahalaxmi.
In his note, Roy confessed to strangling Mahalaxmi during the late hours of September 2 and early morning hours of September 3. Addressing the scheme he believed Mahalaxmi had against him, Roy claimed she planned to kill him, chop up his body, and dispose of it using a suitcase. Indeed, police confirmed that a suitcase was discovered near the crime scene adding a layer of complexity to his assertions.
Roy’s preparation for the crime was meticulous. He recounted purchasing a sharp weapon the day after the murder, using it to dismember Mahalaxmi’s body, and then attempting to eliminate evidence by cleaning the crime scene with acid. Roy allegedly fled to Odisha shortly after, with his younger brother.
Adding to the macabre nature of the confession, Roy indicated that Mahalaxmi had been pressuring him for marriage and had become increasingly demanding and abusive when her demands were not met, claims that complicate the narrative of their relationship.
The investigation also revealed personal details about Mahalaxmi, including her origins from Tripura and her life in Bengaluru, where she worked at a popular mall. It was also discovered that she was married and had a child, from whom she was living separately.
The Bengaluru Police Commissioner, B Dyananad, stated that a chargesheet would be filed promptly as they had received the suicide note’s translation and Roy’s postmortem report from Odisha Police. Meanwhile, the search for the weapon used in the dismemberment has continued. A local shop owner at the Vyalikaval market, where cutters are sold, identified Roy from a photograph, aiding the police in their ongoing investigation.
This gruesome case draws parallels with another notorious incident, the Shraddha Walkar murder case of 2022, where the victim was similarly killed and dismembered by her live-in partner. Such cases highlight the alarming prevalence of extreme domestic violence and the tragic consequences that can emerge from tumultuous personal relationships.