Couple found dead at Bengaluru home; police investigate suspected murder-suicide
In a tragic incident, a 32-year-old man and his 28-year-old wife were found dead at their rented residence in the Rajagopalnagar area of northwest Bengaluru on Friday evening. Police have launched an investigation and are treating the case as a suspected murder-suicide, though the exact cause of death is yet to be determined.
The deceased have been identified as Sumanth Jain, a civil engineer, and his wife Padmavathi, who also worked as an engineer. The couple, hailing from Dakshina Kannada, had been married for over three years and had been residing in a rented house near Hegganahalli for the past four months. Jain was employed at a company in Nandini Layout, while Padmavathi worked at a firm in Whitefield, east Bengaluru.
According to the police, preliminary findings suggest that the couple had an altercation on Thursday night over a marital issue. "The argument escalated and might have ended with Jain killing his wife and subsequently taking his own life out of fear of the consequences," said a police officer investigating the case. However, the officer stressed that this is only a possibility and that the sequence of events is being verified.
The incident came to light after Jain's relatives arrived at the house. An investigator told The Hindu that Jain had sent a voice message to his mother on Friday at 1:30 a.m., stating that he was going to take his life and that she could take his belongings. The mother, who saw the message later in the day, attempted to reach her son multiple times but got no response. She then contacted a relative who went to the house in the evening, where the bodies were discovered, leading to a police complaint.
Police have sent the bodies to a government hospital for post-mortem. The officer noted that the exact cause of death will only be known after the post-mortem report is received. "We are recording the statements of family members and neighbours to establish the circumstances leading to the incident," he said. The police have not ruled out the possibility that both died by suicide.
A case has been registered under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with murder, and an Unnatural Death Report (UDR) has been filed. The bodies will be handed over to the family members after the post-mortem procedure is completed.
Authorities also urged anyone facing distress or suicidal thoughts to seek help. Helplines include TeleMANAS (1-8008914416/14416), NIMHANS (08026685948, 9480829670), and SAHAI (080 25497777, +91-9886444075).
