Reuters journalist found dead in Bengaluru

A Reuters journalist hailing from Kerala was found hanging in her apartment in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

35-year-old Shruti Narayanan, who was a page editor at Reuters Bangalore bureau, was found dead in her apartment in 'Sruthinilayam' Kasaragod, Vidyanagar Chala Road in Bengaluru. Reportedly, she hanged herself when her husband was away from home.

Shruti Narayanan, 35 years old, was found dead in Bengaluru.

Shruti and her husband Aneesh were married for five years and stayed in an apartment in Nallurhalli Mayfair, Bengaluru. Her husband Aneesh was away at Taliparamba, a municipality of Kannur district, Kerala, the day Shruti was found dead. A post-mortem examination has reportedly confirmed that she died due to hanging. Shruti was found after her mother called her from home but got no reply.

In Bangalore, Shruthi's brother Nishant, an engineer, immediately contacted the security of her apartment on the phone to check into her room. The room was however locked from the inside. When they broke open the door from the balcony and entered, Shruti was found hanging from the ceiling.

Meanwhile, relatives who arrived at the scene alleged suspicion over Shruti's death. The relatives lodged a complaint with the Whitefield Police Station, asking that the mystery be cleared up. According to reports, Shruti's brother, Nishant, alleged that Aneesh, who used to work for a private company, tortured her on a daily basis.

The two supposedly had a clash due to Shruti's practice of sending a portion of her salary to her parent's house every month. “Aneesh would verbally abuse her in an intoxicated state,” Nishant reportedly told police.

It is also being alleged that Aneesh used to monitor Shruti's daily movements by installing hidden cameras around the house and recording everything she said. Nishant also told police that Aneesh would take her on tours on the weekends and abuse her. According to reports, Nishant's wife made multiple attempts to connect with Shruti on phone calls on the 20th and 21st. But since they got no reply, they visited Shruti's home on the 22nd, when they found her.

Allegedly, Aneesh had made a murder attempt in mid-January to kill Shruti, and failed when her loud screams alerted security guards of the apartment who intervened and saved her life.

Shruti was the daughter of former teacher and environmental activist Narayanan Periya and former teacher Satyabhama, who live on Vidyanagar Chala Road.

Reuters shared the news of Shruti's death via an internal mail on Tuesday and held a two-minute silence for her.