Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Bureau
Mukti Ranjan Ray, whose body was found hanging from a tree in an Odisha village, killed his lover, Mahalakshmi, in Bengaluru after frequent arguments over marriage. Thirty-one-year-old Ray was the main suspect in the murder case of 29-year-old Mahalakshmi, whose body, chopped into 59 pieces, was found inside a refrigerator at her one-bedroom apartment in Bengaluru’s Malleshwaram on September 21.
In his suicide note, which is presently in the custody of the Bhadrak Police, Mukti Ranjan detailed his fight with Mahalakshmi moments before he killed her.
A source told CNN-News18 that the letter began with “I did it” and mentioned that Mukti Ranjan had been fed up with Mahalakshmi’s “violent behaviour and arguments”.
“She attacked me and that angered me and I hit her and killed her. I cut her into multiple pieces,” Mukti Ranjan’s suicide note allegedly read.
The note was found inside a bag right next to where the body was found hanging, said a police source.
Meanwhile, the Bhadrak Police were cross-referencing with Mukti Ranjan’s handwriting and other forensic evidence.
WHY DID MUKTI RANJAN KILL MAHALAKSHMI
Mahalakshmi and Mukti Ranjan worked together at a garment shop and became friends. They both had been in a relationship for a while, Bengaluru Police said.
On September 2, Mahalakshmi, who had her weekly off, had Mukti Ranjan Roy visiting her like every other day.
As they both met, they are believed to have entered a serious argument as Mahalakshmi had allegedly been forcing Mukti Ranjan to marry her.
As their argument turned violent, Mahalakshmi allegedly attacked Mukti Ranjan. She also allegedly hit and bit him. This was when Mukti Ranjan hit her back, leading to her death. He later dismembered her body.
In February this year, Mahalakshmi’s estranged husband, Hemanth, filed a case against her, alleging that she attacked him after he refused her money. In his complaint, Hemanth had alleged domestic assault and claimed that Mahalakshmi bit his hand.
The Bengaluru Police had earlier revealed that Mahalakshmi had split with her husband and had been living alone in her flat for the past few months.
Her estranged husband had claimed that she was in a relationship with one Ashraf, who was suspected to be involved in the case. However, as Ashraf was interrogated, it was revealed that he and Mahalakshmi had split a year back.
With the recovery of Mukti Ranjan’s body and his suicide note, the police were waiting for details confirming the fingerprints on the note.
Mukti Ranjan is said to have confessed to his younger brother, who lived in Bengaluru’s Hebbagodi, that he had killed Mahalakshmi.
This was when Mukti Ranjan’s brother questioned him about his phone being switched off. Mukti Ranjan also told his brother that he wanted to run away to escape the cops.
The police were recording the statement of Mukti Ranjan’s brother and were investigating if he was complicit.
Mukti Ranjan’s other brother, living in Bhadrak, was also being questioned by the police, and investigations are underway to ascertain if Mukti Ranjan’s family helped him escape from Bengaluru to Odisha after the crime.
On tracing down Mukti Ranjan, a senior police official told news agency PTI that his mobile location was initially traced to West Bengal but he later switched his phone off.
“With the help of technical analysis and call record details, the accused was identified and his mobile location was initially traced to West Bengal but later he switched it off. However, with the help of technical surveillance, his location was traced to a village in Odisha where we sent our teams to nab him,” he said.
