Bengaluru midnight horror: 65-year-old raped, murdered by domestic help; accused found hanging in same room

BENGALURU: A gruesome crime sent shockwaves through KAS Colony in BTM Layout II Stage, where a 65-year-old woman was allegedly raped and murdered by her domestic help at her residence, police said Sunday. The accused later allegedly died by suicide in the same room.

The victim was a homemaker and wife of a private finance firm employee. The accused, Devaraju, 45, a resident of Bommasandra and a native of Hosur in Tamil Nadu, had been working for the victim's family for the last 10 years. Police said the crime occurred around midnight Saturday at the woman's two-storey residence. The incident came to light around 4.30am Sunday when her husband returned home from Dubai, where he had travelled a week earlier for work.



According to police, the family originally hails from Mangaluru and includes the couple's only daughter, 26, who works for a private firm.

Devaraju was responsible for cleaning the house, washing the car, caring for the family's dog, and purchasing vegetables and groceries.

Initially, Devaraju stayed in a PG accommodation. Over the years, the family trusted him and asked him to vacate the PG room and stay in their house. Devaraju slept in the hall on the ground floor, while the couple slept in their bedroom on the same floor. Their daughter slept in her bedroom on the first floor.

A senior police officer said the woman's husband knocked on the door upon arrival but received no response for almost three minutes. He then called up his daughter, who opened the door for him, and went back to sleep.

When the man did not find Devaraju sleeping in his usual spot in the hall, he suspected something was amiss. He entered his bedroom to find his wife lying unconscious on the bed and Devaraju hanging with a rope. Hearing his screams, his daughter rushed to the ground floor, and she alerted police.

Mico Layout police rushed to the spot and conducted a detailed inspection. Senior officials, including DCP (South-East) Mohammad Sujeetha MS, also visited the crime spot. Police found marks on the deceased's neck.

Police said the woman's daughter was unaware of the incident as she was on a different floor of the house at the time of the crime. Both bodies were shifted to a mortuary for post-mortem examination. Based on the daughter's complaint, police registered a case of rape and murder.

After the autopsy, the doctors orally informed police that the woman had been sexually assaulted and had died from neck compression. Police suspect the accused, who was known to get drunk every night, realised that she was dead after some time and took his own life subsequently. "We are waiting for the official autopsy report," a senior officer said.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)