Bengaluru, Oct 15: A surgeon has been arrested on the charges of killing his dermatologist wife with an overdose of anaesthesia in Bengaluru, police said on Wednesday. The incident was reported from the Marathahalli police station limits.
The victim has been identified as Kruthika M. Reddy, a 29-year-old dermatologist. The accused was identified as her husband, a practising surgeon, Mahendra Reddy G.S. He was arrested on Tuesday in Udupi, within hours of the FIR being registered.
The incident occurred on May 26, 2024. A complaint in this regard was initially filed by Nikita M. Reddy, the victim’s sister. The police registered it as an unnatural death case. Following a fresh complaint by the victim’s father, Muni Reddy K., on Tuesday, the police re-registered an FIR under Section 103 of the BNS Act. The family of Kruthika Reddy has alleged in the complaint, “Postmortem analysis confirmed the presence of ‘Propofol,’ a controlled anaesthetic agent restricted to operation-theatre use, in multiple organs of the deceased. Investigative findings indicate that the drug was deliberately administered intravenously, causing fatal respiratory depression.”
The family further charged that Mahendra Reddy misused his professional access to procure and administer the drug. He allegedly attempted to cover up the act by projecting it as a natural death and pressuring the family not to file a police complaint or insist on a postmortem examination.
The family also alleged that the accused had a criminal history, which was concealed at the time of marriage. Victim’s father, Muni Reddy, said, “Kruthika trusted her husband completely and believed him. The medical knowledge of her husband, which should have saved lives, was used to destroy hers. Our family seeks the harshest punishment for this premeditated act and justice for our daughter.”
He added, “Kruthika was about to launch her own clinic in Marathahalli. The accused was demanding that we set up a hospital for him. We had already arranged a clinic for him. When she asked him to make payments for the equipment, it angered him. We are also now learning about his past affair.”
“After her death, the accused almost convinced us not to lodge a police complaint or request a postmortem examination. My elder daughter Nikitha, who is also a Radiologist, insisted that her 28-year-old sister could not have died naturally and pressed for the postmortem examination. At the hospital, the accused even tried to enter the autopsy room, but the police did not allow him,” he said.
Mohan Reddy, brother-in-law of the deceased, stated that Kruthika’s death was a loss to society. “By ensuring the harshest punishment for the accused, we want to make sure no other woman is subjected to such grave injustice,” he said, also thanking police inspector Anil Kumar and Sub-Inspector Ravichandra for their swift action. The police have taken up further investigation in the case.
IANS
