Note by Bengaluru CEO may reveal motive behind son's murder
A "note" purportedly written by Suchana Seth, a Bengaluru start-up founder accused of murdering her son, was recovered by police during the probe, the Hindustan Times reported. The five-sentence note written in English could be the key to understanding the motive behind the crime, a police officer has said. To recall, Seth allegedly concealed her four-year-old son's body in a bag, while attempting to flee from Goa to Bengaluru. She was arrested on Monday in a cross-state operation.
Note's content and significance
According to the police, the note was written on tissue paper using eyeliner and then crumpled. "The pieces...were found in her luggage and our forensic team has pieced it together," an officer told Hindustan Times. The note suggests that Seth did not want her son to be with his father and provides insights into her mental state at the time of the alleged murder, the officer added. Police have not shared the exact contents of the note.
Seth in Calangute police custody
Seth, the chief executive officer of Bengaluru-based AI company The Mindful AI, is in custody at the Calangute police station in Goa. A case has been registered against her under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 8 of the Goa Children's Act (Child Abuse and Trafficking). To be sure, Seth has not yet confessed to the crime.
Divorce and custody battle as possible motive
According to reports, the motive behind this tragic event may be rooted in Seth's bitter divorce and custody battle with her estranged husband, PR Venkatraman. In November 2023, a Bengaluru family court ruled that Raman could visit their son every Sunday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Seth had previously accused her husband of physically abusing both her and their son, which he denied. Investigators believe that Seth's distress over the court order may have led to the crime.
Bengaluru CEO may have planned murder: Police
Earlier, two empty cough syrup bottles were found in the service apartment where the four-year-old was allegedly murdered. This indicated that Seth might have planned the murder and given her son a heavy dose of medication, police said. According to the hotel staff, Seth had asked them to buy her a bottle of cough syrup. The police said that Seth remained in her room throughout her stay. She only ordered some food from an online food aggregator on January 7.
4-year-old smothered to death: Doctor
Dr. Kumar Naik, the doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination of the four-year-old, said that the child was "smothered" to death, News18 reported. "The boy was killed more than 36 hours earlier... It doesn't look like the child was strangulated using hands. It looks like a pillow or a wire or some other material was used," he said. He also said that there were no wounds or signs of struggle on the body.
How the crime was unraveled
The crime was unraveled after housekeeping staff at Hotel Sol Banyan Grande in North Goa's Candolim found blood-stained towels after Seth checked out. When quizzed by police over the phone, the 39-year-old alleged the stains were from her monthly periods. She also narrated a fake story that her son was with her friend in Margao in South Goa. Police subsequently found that she provided a fake address.
