BENGALURU: The 64-year-old wife of retired Karnataka DGP Om Prakash was arrested on Monday for his murder after she allegedly confessed to stabbing him more than 10 times at their home. Police based their arrest on her purported confession and a statement from their son, Karthikesh, who suspected his mother and sister of conspiring to kill the former IPS officer.
Investigators are still working to establish a clear motive for the murder, though Pallavi, the prime suspect, claimed she was a victim of domestic violence and acted alone. She stated that her daughter, Kriti, who had been detained alongside her the previous evening, was “depressed” and had no involvement in the crime. Kriti was released after questioning. “It has been difficult to interrogate both Pallavi and Kriti, as their statements have been incoherent,” a police officer noted.
Son’s Allegations: ‘Mother Had Been Threatening to Kill Dad for Over a Week’
“I have suffered domestic violence,” Pallavi told the media three times while being taken to a magistrate, who later remanded her in judicial custody. Following this, Bengaluru’s city police commissioner, B. Dayananda, transferred the case to the Central Crime Branch for further investigation.
Karthikesh, 39, filed a complaint with the police stating that his mother had been threatening to kill his father for more than a week. This led Prakash to temporarily move into his sister Saritha Kumari’s house. Karthikesh claimed that Kriti had convinced Prakash to return home last Friday.
The family lived in a four-story building in the upscale HSR Layout area of Bengaluru. Om Prakash and Pallavi stayed on the ground floor, Karthikesh and his family lived on the first floor, and Kriti occupied the third floor. The second floor was rented out.
On Sunday, Prakash had ordered fish fry for lunch and was sitting at the dining table when Pallavi allegedly sprayed chili powder in his face and then stabbed him multiple times with a kitchen knife, hitting him in the neck, shoulder, and abdomen. She is also accused of striking him with an oil bottle, police said.
Karthikesh learned of his father’s murder from a neighbor around 5 p.m. that day. “After killing Prakash, Pallavi texted one of her friends, the wife of a retired IPS officer, saying she had killed ‘a monster,'” an officer revealed. Pallavi also reportedly made a WhatsApp video call to the retired officer’s wife, showing Prakash’s body lying in a pool of blood.
