The Odisha police on Wednesday discovered the body of a man, the key suspect in the gruesome murder of a Bengaluru woman, hanging from a tree in the Bhadrak district. The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Mukti Ranjan Ray, had been on the run following the discovery of the woman's dismembered body in her house, an officer confirmed.
Bhadrak Superintendent of Police, Varun Guntupalli, stated that Ray, a resident of Bhuinpur Village under Dhusuri Police Station, was the prime suspect in the murder of 29-year-old Mahalakshmi, news agency PTI reported. Her dismembered body had been found in the refrigerator of her Bengaluru residence. A diary, believed to belong to Ray, was also recovered, in which he reportedly confessed to the brutal killing.
Ray allegedly returned to his village from Bengaluru after committing the murder. His body was found hanging from a tree, and authorities handed it over to his family after conducting a post-mortem examination, said Dhusuri Police Station Inspector-in-Charge Santanu Jena.
"The body of Mukti Ranjan Ray was found hanging from a tree. After completing the necessary formalities, we handed over the body to his family," Jena added.
The diary recovered from Ray's possession detailed his confession, wherein he claimed to have dismembered Mahalakshmi's body into 59 pieces after killing her, as per PTI.
Earlier in the day, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara had stated that the police were aware of the suspect's presence in Odisha and had sent teams to capture him. However, when asked about coordination with the Karnataka police, Jena said, "We had received a message, but no representative of the Karnataka police has reached here."
Mahalakshmi's maggot-infested remains, chopped into several pieces and stored in a fridge, were discovered by her mother and elder sister at her Vyalikaval residence in Bengaluru on Saturday.
On Sunday, Mahalakshmi's estranged husband expressed suspicion about the involvement of a man known to her, who lived nearby.
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Bengaluru Woman Murder
Mahalakshmi’s body, which had been chopped into 50 pieces, was found by her mother and elder sister on Saturday. The disturbing scene came to light when the victim’s mother, Meena Rana, was informed of a foul smell by the owner of the building. Speaking to the media, she said, “When I came and opened the door, I saw the body of Mahalakshmi cut into pieces. I saw her for the last time at the Rakshabandhan festival. Since then, her phone had been switched off."
The victim had been living alone in her flat, and her estranged husband had earlier raised suspicions about a man known to Mahalakshmi who resided in the neighbourhood. Mahalakshmi’s elder sister demanded justice, stating, "Who cuts a woman into pieces like this? I saw her a year ago. Now I saw her in pieces."
The brutality of the case has drawn comparisons to the 2022 Shraddha Walkar murder in Delhi, where Walkar's body was chopped into 35 pieces by her live-in partner and stored in a refrigerator.
In response to concerns about women's safety in Bengaluru, Parameshwara had highlighted ongoing measures such as the Nirbhaya programme, the installation of CCTVs, and heightened vigilance across the city's police stations. "We have taken steps, but still we don't know how to term these incidents. We have already alerted all police stations to be extra careful about women's safety," he said.