In a spine-chilling incident that has sent shockwaves through Bengaluru, the body of a woman was found brutally murdered and dismembered in her home in the Vyalikaval area on Saturday, September 21st. The victim, Mahalakshmi, aged 29, met a horrifying end that mirrors the infamous Shraddha Walker case.

Mahalakshmi’s body was found in an unthinkable condition. Her remains were cut into pieces—estimated between 20 and 40—and stuffed inside a 165-litre refrigerator. Authorities suspect that she had been dead for nearly 15 days before her body was discovered, making it difficult to trace exactly when the crime took place.

Investigators believe that the murderer likely cut her body apart to hide it and make it easier to dispose of. However, due to the poor state of the remains, determining the exact time of the murder is proving to be a challenge. Detectives are leaving no stone unturned in their effort to piece together the details of what happened.

Police are focusing on CCTV footage and the call records from Mahalakshmi’s phone to find out who may have been involved. “We are checking her call logs. The victim’s phone was unreachable for days, and neighbours mentioned seeing a man frequently dropping her off,” said a police officer, speaking anonymously.

Mahalakshmi was originally from Tikapur village in Kathmandu, Nepal. She had been living alone in a rented flat in Bengaluru for the past five months, following her separation from her husband, Hemant Das, with whom she shared a four-year-old son. Their marriage had reportedly been troubled due to Mahalakshmi’s alleged involvement with another man, leading to their split.

The gruesome case took a darker turn when more chilling details surfaced. Mahalakshmi's phone had been switched off since September 2, leaving her family concerned and unable to contact her. It wasn’t until her neighbours noticed a foul smell coming from her home that the horrifying truth came to light. Disturbed by the smell, they reported it to the authorities, leading to a shocking discovery.

Once the police arrived at the scene, they immediately cordoned off the area. Maggot-infested body parts were recovered from the house, and a full investigation was launched. Forensic experts were brought in to aid the investigation, and a dog squad was deployed to assist in gathering more evidence.

Mahalakshmi, who had been living alone after separating from her husband, Hemant Das, was a native of Nepal. Though she had left her past behind, her four-year-old daughter continued to live with Hemant. Upon hearing about the tragedy, Hemant rushed to the crime scene. He reportedly visited Mahalakshmi’s house with their child every two weeks, an eerie detail that adds more questions to the ongoing investigation.

The police, while giving updates on the situation, revealed the horrifying state of Mahalakshmi’s home. “Mahalakshmi’s phone had been switched off since September 2. As she was not reachable, her mother and sister were worried and came to the house,” said one officer. Upon entering, they encountered a nightmare—“Maggots crawling on the floor, the floor sticky with blood that had dripped from the refrigerator’s door.” What they found inside the refrigerator was even more disturbing: “Legs were cut and placed on top of the refrigerator, while remaining body parts were placed on the middle shelves. The head was placed at the bottom of the refrigerator.”

As the investigation unfolds, authorities initailly believed Mahalakshmi’s husband as a key suspect in this horrific case. While no formal charges have been made, the husband’s involvement is being closely examined as the police work to piece together the sequence of events leading to her tragic death.

Mahalakshmi’s mother, Meena Rana, officially lodged the First Information Report (FIR), which gives a clearer timeline of the days leading up to the discovery. According to the FIR, Mahalakshmi had called her parents on September 2, informing them that she planned to visit soon. However, that was the last time they heard from her. “After that, we had no communication with her,” her mother Meena recalled in the FIR.

As days passed with no response from Mahalakshmi, the family’s worry grew. They tried calling her repeatedly, but all attempts to reach her went unanswered, raising serious concerns about her well-being. The tension escalated when, on the evening of September 20 at around 7:30 PM, Mahalakshmi’s elder sister received alarming news. “One Jeevan Prakash, who lived in the same building, told her about a foul smell coming from Mahalakshmi’s house,” the FIR mentioned. Unfortunately, the family couldn’t travel to Bengaluru that night to check on her.

The following morning, Mahalakshmi’s family, including her son, eldest sister Lakshmi, and her brother-in-law Syed Imran, arrived at the house. When they got there, the house was locked from the outside, a troubling sign. Without wasting time, the family broke the door open.

Inside, the scene was nothing short of horrifying. Clothes, sandals, and household items were scattered all over the place, creating a picture of chaos. But what shocked them the most was what they discovered in the hall: “We noticed blood was dripping from the fridge in the hall,” Mahalakshmi’s mother said, recounting the gruesome sight. Upon further inspection, they realized the devastating truth—her body had been cut into approximately 30 pieces and stored inside the refrigerator.

The gruesome discovery has led police to suspect that the murder of Mahalakshmi took place roughly two weeks before the body was found. The advanced state of decomposition, with worms infesting the remains, has pointed investigators to this timeline. Forensic teams have carefully examined the scene and gathered crucial evidence to help uncover the truth behind this heinous crime.

One key piece of evidence recovered by the police was Mahalakshmi’s mobile phone, which had been switched off since September 2. Based on the condition of the body and the electronic data retrieved from the scene, investigators are convinced that Mahalakshmi was murdered inside her own home. The killer then dismembered her body and hid the pieces inside the refrigerator, in a twisted attempt to cover up the crime.

Originally from Nepal, Mahalakshmi had been married to a man named Hemanth Das for five years, and together they had a four-year-old child. Unfortunately, their marriage began to deteriorate, leading Mahalakshmi to leave Hemanth and start a new life in Bengaluru, where she rented an apartment and worked as a salesperson at a mall. She mostly kept to herself, rarely interacting with her neighbors and maintaining a quiet, almost solitary existence.

Mahalakshmi’s brother, Sunil, who works in Koramangala, hadn’t spoken to her in a while. "I was informed by a relative and came to check on her. We had not spoken or seen each other for some time," Sunil explained to the media, clearly distressed by the news. One of her neighbors shared a similar story, recalling how Mahalakshmi had moved into the building about five months ago. "She was hardly home, leaving around 9:30 a.m. and returning after 10:30 p.m. A man who claimed to be her brother stayed with her for a few days, but we didn't know she was married," the neighbor added, highlighting Mahalakshmi's reclusive nature.

With this new information, the police have turned their attention to her workplace, questioning why no one seemed to inquire about her absence for several days. Another major lead they are following is the frequent visits from a man who often picked her up. Investigators believe this man could be central to solving the case.

As they dig deeper, authorities suspect that the prime culprit Mohd Ashraf may have fled to West Bengal, where they are actively tracking his whereabouts. A case of murder has been officially registered, and Mahalakshmi’s call records are under close scrutiny to help locate the man believed to be her male acquaintance, who is now the prime suspect in the case.

The investigation into Mahalakshmi’s brutal murder has taken a significant turn with the police gathering vital clues about the suspected killer. Initially, her husband was a prime suspect, but recent findings have led the authorities to rule him out. Instead, the focus has now shifted to a friend of Mahalakshmi's, who hails from an eastern state but currently works in Bengaluru. According to a report by TOI, the suspect has reportedly confessed to a family member about his role in the murder and is believed to be hiding in West Bengal. The police have dispatched a team to track him down and bring him to justice. Mahalakshmi's husband, Hemanth Das, claimed that the prime suspect behind her brutal murder was Mohd Ashraf, a friend of Mahalakshmi.

As more details emerge, it has been revealed that the accused had gruesomely dismembered Mahalakshmi’s body into nearly 50 pieces. Her remains were handed over to her grieving family on Sunday afternoon, following the completion of the postmortem. Investigators now suspect that the dismemberment may have occurred elsewhere, and the body parts were then transported back to her residence, where they were stored in the refrigerator.

Police continue to examine the crime scene for further evidence. Interestingly, “there were no bloodstains found in the toilet, bedroom, or living room, nor any evidence suggesting the suspect cleaned up afterward,” one officer shared. This raises the question of where the dismemberment took place. The officer also mentioned the discovery of a suitcase next to her sleeping mat, leading them to believe the killer may have considered using it to conceal the body. The suitcase is now under examination as part of the ongoing investigation.

This horrific case has drawn unsettling comparisons to the murder of Shraddha Walker, a 27-year-old woman killed by her live-in partner, Aftab Amin Poonawalla. Aftab had strangled Shraddha on May 18, 2022, before chopping her body into 35 pieces. Over the course of several days, he disposed of the body parts at 18 different locations in the National Capital. The gruesome details of that crime shocked the entire nation, and Aftab was eventually arrested in November 2022.

As authorities work tirelessly to close in on the suspect in Mahalakshmi’s case, the haunting similarities to the Shraddha Walker murder have left the public disturbed and demanding swift justice. The police are determined to uncover all aspects of this heinous crime and ensure that the accused is held accountable.