What did police find at murder-accused Bengaluru CEO's Goa apartment?
Suchana Seth, the 39-year-old founder of a Bengaluru startup arrested on charges of killing her four-year-old son in a Goa hotel, might have planned the murder, police have said. During the investigation, police found two empty cough syrup bottles in the service apartment where the boy was allegedly murdered. The police said that the empty bottles indicate that the murder was premeditated and Seth gave her son a heavy dose of medication.
Seth asked hotel staff to buy her cough syrup
According to the staff at the service apartment, Seth had asked them to buy her a bottle of cough syrup. The police said that Seth remained in her service apartment throughout her stay. She only ordered a coffee and some food from an online food aggregator on January 7. The footage from a CCTV at the hotel will be reviewed during the course of the investigation, police said.
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.
Bengaluru CEO checked out of hotel earlier
The police have also said that Seth booked the hotel room from January 6 to January 10, but checked out earlier, The Indian Express reported. On the night of January 7, Seth told the staff at the service apartment of North Goa's Hotel Sol Banyan Grande that she wanted to check out. She said she had "urgent work" in Bengaluru and requested a taxi. She left at 12.30am. The hotel staff found bloodstains in the room and alerted the police.
Police yet to ascertain murder motive
Meanwhile, reports have suggested that Seth murdered the child because she was upset over a court order granting her soon-to-be ex-husband PR Venkataraman visitation rights every Sunday. The couple had been estranged for over a year and was in the final stages of a divorce proceeding. On Tuesday, Venkataraman returned from Jakarta to India to provide consent for the post-mortem after learning about his son's death.
Seth sent her husband a message a day before murder
Seth had allegedly sent a message to Venkataraman on Saturday, saying that he could come and meet their son on Sunday. As per The Indian Express, police said that Seth's husband was in Bengaluru at the time. "But when he did not get any response regarding visitation on Sunday, he left for Jakarta the next day for business purposes," a police officer said.
Bengaluru CEO's lawsuit against husband over son
As the case unravels, new reports have emerged claiming that the 39-year-old accused had filed a case of domestic violence against her estranged husband, Venkataraman. Reportedly, Seth accused Venkataraman of physically assaulting their child, who had also been undergoing treatment at Bengaluru's National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) adolescent psychiatry center. On Seth's allegations, the family court of Bengaluru's Metropolitan Magistrate issued a restraining order against Venkataraman in 2022 after hearing the matter.
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, cops subsequently found that she provided a fake address.
