House help rapes, murders 65-year-old woman, then dies by suicide in Bengaluru

Preliminary findings suggested that the domestic worker allegedly sexually assaulted and killed the woman before taking his own life inside the same house.

A 65-year-old woman was reportedly found murdered inside her residence in KAS Colony of BTM Layout 2nd Stage in Bengaluru, while her domestic worker was later discovered dead in what police believe to be a suicide.

The crime unfolded while the victim's husband was away, and their daughter was in the upstairs bedroom, unaware of the tragedy that transpired in their home.

The deceased woman has been identified as Savitha Shankar, and the suspect as Devaraju, a 50-year-old domestic help from Hosur in Tamil Nadu who was employed at her home, The Times of India reported.

Preliminary police findings suggested that the domestic worker allegedly sexually assaulted and killed the woman before taking his own life inside the same house.

The crime is believed to have taken place around midnight on Saturday, but remained unnoticed until the early hours of Sunday morning. The incident came to light at around 4:30 am when the victim’s husband returned from Dubai and rang the doorbell, the ToI report stated.

Their 27-year-old daughter, who was asleep on the first floor at the time, answered the door and went back to her room, unaware of what had occurred downstairs. Police said the husband later entered the ground-floor bedroom, where he found his wife dead, while the domestic worker was found dead in the same room, the report added.

Officials clarified that the daughter remained unaware of the incident as she was on a different floor of the house when the crime took place. Following an alert, personnel from the Mico Layout police station rushed to the spot and conducted a detailed inspection of the premises.

Senior police officers, including Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-East) Mohammad Sujeetha MS, also visited the scene to assess the situation and collect information.

Both bodies have been shifted to a mortuary for post-mortem examinations, and forensic as well as technical teams have examined the scene. Police have registered a case and stated that investigations are ongoing, with all possible angles, including third-party involvement, being examined.