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How Bengaluru doctor meticulously planned, killed wife with anesthesia, less than year after marriage
Months after Dr Kruthika Reddy's sudden death was written off as natural, cops said her husband, Mahendra Reddy, had meticulously planned her killing.
Mahendra Reddy, a 32-year-old general surgeon at Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru, knew exactly how the human body would react, and he used that knowledge not to save a life, but to take one.
Six months after a 28-year-old dermatologist’s sudden death was written off as natural, police said her husband, Mahendra Reddy, had meticulously planned her killing, with the precision of a surgeon, HT reported earlier.
Mahendra was arrested on October 14 for allegedly murdering his wife, Dr Kruthika Reddy, by administering a fatal dose of anesthesia under the guise of treatment. The couple had married less than a year earlier, on May 26, 2024.
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Police said Mahendra used his professional expertise and intimate knowledge of his wife’s medical history to plan the act “with clinical precision".
“Mahendra had planned his wife’s murder meticulously. He knew her medical vulnerabilities and used his professional knowledge to exploit them,” said Whitefield DCP M Parashuram.
Meticulous planning
Mahendra first administered intravenous (IV) medication to Kruthika on April 21 at their residence, claiming it was for gastric discomfort. The following day, he took her to her parents’ home in Marathahalli, saying she needed rest, and later returned that night to give another IV dose, new agency PTI reported, citing police.
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On April 23, Kruthika complained of pain at the IV site. Mahendra allegedly advised her over WhatsApp not to remove it, assuring her he would visit again that night to administer another dose. Around 9.30pm, he went to her room and gave the injection.
The next morning, April 24, Kruthika was found unresponsive. Despite being a doctor, Mahendra allegedly did not attempt CPR. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.
The postmortem and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reports later confirmed the presence of anesthetic substances in her organs, revealing that her death was not natural. Following the findings, police converted the earlier Unnatural Death Report (UDR) into a murder case and arrested Mahendra based on the FIR filed by Muni Reddy.
From medical mystery to murder
What began as a medical mystery turned into a murder case after Kruthika’s father, K Muni Reddy, filed a complaint.
“Our daughter believed her marriage was built on respect and love. But the same medical knowledge that should have healed others was used to end her life,” he said.
Police later discovered that Mahendra had been upset upon learning that Kruthika suffered from long-standing gastric and metabolic disorders, information her family allegedly didn’t disclose before marriage.
Investigators believe this revelation triggered months of resentment, culminating in the carefully orchestrated poisoning.
Mahendra maintained composure
Even after his wife’s death, Mahendra reportedly maintained composure and behaved as though it were a tragic medical event.
When questioned, the surgeon allegedly displayed no emotion, insisting he was innocent and that his wife’s death was natural.
Murder case filed
Following the FSL findings, police reclassified the case as murder and arrested Mahendra under Section 103 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Bengaluru Police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh commended the investigative team for “unraveling a murder that had been disguised as medical tragedy".
Kruthika had been preparing to open her own skin clinic, Skin & Scalpel, on May 4, just days before she died.
Kruthika, a well-regarded dermatologist, had completed her MBBS from Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences, her MD from Navodaya Medical College, Raichur, and later earned a DNB in Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy from NBEMS.
Her colleagues at Victoria Hospital described her as dedicated and compassionate. “She always spoke about empowering women through dermatology,” said one colleague. “It’s devastating that her own husband betrayed that trust.”
(With inputs from Coovercolly Indresh)
