Jilted teen killed 34-year-old techie in Bengaluru, passed it off as death in fire. Then, police got a clue

The accused is the woman's neighbour and lives with his mother. Police said the crime stemmed from his ‘obsession’ with the woman.

What was initially considered to be an accident — death caused by suffocation due to the fire in the apartment — has turned out to be a case of murder in Bengaluru. An 18-year-old man has been held for the alleged killing of a 34-year-old software engineer.

The incident happened on January 3 when the woman was alone at her Bengaluru flat as her roommate had gone to her hometown, (Pexel)

The accused has been identified as 18-year-old Karnal Kurai, originally a resident of Kerala, HT reported earlier.

He is the neighbour of the deceased woman and lives with his single mother, according to report published by The Indian Express.

How it was passed off as death in fire

The victim had been living with her friend in an apartment at Subramanya Layout in Ramamurthy Nagar, Bengaluru. She was originally from Kavoor in Mangaluru. She worked for the IT firm Accenture and was alone at home as her roommate had gone to her hometown, according to a PTI report.

The incident occurred late on January 3, around 11pm, when a fire broke out in one of the rooms of the apartment, filling the house with thick smoke, HT reported.

Fire and emergency services rushed to the spot after neighbours alerted the police; doused the flames, and shifted the body for a post-mortem examination. At the time, investigators suspected that an electrical short circuit had caused the fire, and the death was by suffocation.

“At first glance, everything pointed towards an accidental fire caused by an electrical short circuit. There were no visible signs of foul play,” Ramamurthy Nagar police inspector GJ Sathish told HT.

However, the post-mortem report and analysis by the Forensic Science Laboratory indicated inconsistencies at the scene, prompting investigators to suspect that the fire had been deliberately set to destroy evidence.

Phone becomes key to cracking case

“As the investigation progressed, it became clear that this was not an accident but a planned murder made to look like a fire mishap. The accused attempted to create a false narrative of an electrical fire to mislead investigators,” Sathish said.

Though the post-mortem suggested the woman had died due to suffocation, there were also some fresh minor injuries on her body. Police said they couldn't find the woman's mobile phone, even though it was burnt.

Going through the technical evidence, police found the teenaged boy had been using her phone.

Police said the suspect was taken into custody and confessed to his crime.

"He told us that he entered the flat around 9 pm on January 3, as he was aware that her flatmate had gone to her home state. He managed to enter through the sliding window and demanded sexual favours from the woman. When she resisted, the suspect tightly held her mouth, and the victim became unconscious,” the officer was quoted as saying by Express.

He allegedly went to another room, gathered some clothes and other incriminating evidence, set them on fire, and fled with the mobile phone of the victim.

'Crime stemmed from obsession'

Police said that Kurai was the deceased woman's neighbour and had known her for nearly two years. Investigators believe the crime stemmed from his obsession for her.

“Evidence suggests the accused had planned the murder in advance and used fire as a cover-up,” the officer said, adding that the arrest was made on the basis of strong technical and circumstantial evidence.