He stabbed his wife nearly 40 times

Bangalore, Sep 22: The gruesome murder of a woman by her husband, who later plunged to death from a high-rise apartment building in the City on Friday night, has left the two families in deep shock.

The relatives of Madhusudhan, 36, and his wife Roopa, 32, gathered at the KIMS Hospital mortuary on Saturday morning where autopsies on the two disfigured bodies were performed. Roopa’s mother was wailing and was not in a position to speak. Most of the other family members also refused to speak to the media.

However, one of Roopa’s relatives said the two families were in deep shock and had no knowledge of what led to the tragedy. When asked whether there was any marital discord between the two, she said Madhusudhan was very short-tempered and the couple did quarrel often, but over petty issues.

A senior police officer who visited the spot said the couple seemed to have fought like two possessed individuals.

H S Revanna, DCP (South), said there were at least six stab and cut wounds on Roopa’s face alone. Madhusoodhan had stabbed her all over the body nearly forty times, he said.

Another mid-ranking officer said that it was almost as if Madhusudhan had chopped off his wife like a vegetable.

He said there were blood stains all over the house and that the entire place had been ransacked. He said that from the scene of crime, it was clear that Roopa had tried to flee from her husband and he chased her all over the house and stabbed her.

Revanna said Madhusudhan had also suffered a stab wound on his back, probably inflicted with the same knife.

He said that after murdering his wife, Madhusudhan was probably so overcome with desperation to die that he tried to kill himself twice. He had tried to hang himself in the hall from the ceiling fan.

However, the knot slipped and saved him. Revanna also added that Madhusudhan had taken out a kerosene can from the kitchen, but had not used it, as he might not have found a matchbox to set himself ablaze. Later, he climbed the parapet wall and jumped to his death from his 13th-floor flat at Sobha Tulips Apartments, JP Nagar VI Phase.

Madhusudhan and Roopa were married seven years ago. It was an arranged marriage. Both their parents are retired bank officials. Madhusoodhan worked as a senior HR manager with Siemens and Roopa worked as a recruitment head at a leading IT firm in the City. The couple have a five-year-old daughter Surabhi.

On Friday evening, Roopa’s father Vijayendra was celebrating his birthday at his J P Nagar II Phase house. The couple were expected to join the family get-together.

However, they did not turn up. Roopa had dropped her daughter at her parents’ house in the evening. Police sources say that as reported, Madhusudhan had not been to his in-laws house.

The security guard at the apartment reported that Madhusoodhan had checked into the apartment at 8 pm, with a bag of vegetables. By then Roopa was home.

On Friday night at around 9:45, the guard said he saw a man jumping off the 13th floor and dying instantly. The guard identified him as Madhusudhan and alerted the cops.

JP Nagar police have registered a case and are further investigating the case.