Bengaluru techie couple murders teenage nanny for eating child’s food, body found stashed in suitcase: Report

The couple, both working as IT professionals near Bengaluru, has been charged with killing the teenage girl for wasting their child’s food.

In a shocking incident, a techie couple from Bengaluru has been arrested recently in connection with the murder of a 15-year-old girl who had been working as a nanny for their five-year-old son, The Times of India reported. According to the police, the incident occurred on September 27 at their residence in Banganapalli near Bengaluru, where the teenage girl, identified as Sumaina, a native of Rajasthan, was allegedly struck on the head multiple times by her employer, 37-year-old Ashwini Patil after she ate some of the child’s food. Her husband, Abinesh Sahu, aged 41, was also implicated in the crime, the report said.

The teenage girl, identified as Sumaina, a native of Rajasthan, was allegedly struck on the head multiple times by her employer, 37-year-old Ashwini Patil after she ate some of the child’s food. (File photo)

Another report said the girl had been picked up by the couple to work in their household from an orphanage in Odisha.

The Sankari sub-division Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) S Raja spoke to reporters about the crime and said the couple did not seek medical attention for Sumaina after the assault. She succumbed to her injuries the following day. In a state of panic, the couple purchased a suitcase, concealed her body inside, and drove it to a secluded spot near Sankari in Salem district of neighbouring state Tamil Nadu. On the night of September 28, they left the suitcase under a bridge in the Vaikuntam area, the report stated.

Locals discovered the suitcase and alerted authorities on September 29. When police opened it, they found the girl's body inside. Investigators tracked the suitcase purchase back to a store in Bengaluru on September 27. Further leads came from analyzing toll gate CCTV footage, which showed a car traveling toward Sankari but not returning. Upon questioning, the car’s new owner informed police it had been sold to him by a couple from Bengaluru just days prior, as per the report.

Tracing the couple’s background through their IT employer, officers discovered that both had recently turned off their phones. A police team then located and apprehended the suspects in Odisha. They were brought before the magistrate in Sankari and placed in judicial custody at the Salem Central Prison, the report noted.

Sumaina is survived by her parents who live in Jaipur. Officers have notified them of her death. Further probe is underway and more details are awaited.