Bangalore: Woman stabbed to death in front of daughter

Bangalore, Aug 3: A woman was stabbed to death by an unidentified assailant in front of her five-year-old daughter at her J P Nagar residence on Thursday.

The incident came to light after Jyothilakshmi's parents tried in vain to contact her on Thursday night. She did not take their calls. “On Friday morning, I asked my friend Nagaraj, who stays in the same layout, to call on my daughter and ask her to call us immediately,” her father Narasiah said.

Nagaraj asked his wife Susheela to visit Jyothilakshmi.

“As I entered the house, I saw blood drops. Jyothilakshmi's body was lying on the floor and her daughter Jagruthi was lying next to her. I panicked and called others for help,” Susheela said.

Jyothilakshmi (33), a single mother, and her daughter Jagruthi lived at Venkatadri Layout in J P Nagar. Jyothilakshmi was a human resource manager at VMware on Bannerghatta Road. Jagruthi is a kindergarten student at BGS National Public School in Hulimavu.

Jyothilakshmi got married to Hemachandra, a software engineer in a multi-national company, eight years ago. In 2011, both decided to part ways. While Hemachandra remarried, Jyothilakshmi obtained the custody of their daughter. She moved to the rented accommodation in J P Nagar last year.

Hemachandra used to visit the house on weekends to meet Jagruthi, said a neighbour.

The J P Nagar police have shifted Jyothilakshmi's body to Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences. The victim was stabbed twice in the neck and the abdomen, while Jagruthi had scratch marks on her chin, the police said.

Jagruthi was admitted to the emergency ward of Apollo Hospital. “She was in a semi-conscious state when our officers found her. Her eyes were wide open and she was glaring at the body of her mother,” said H S Revanna, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South.

A doctor at Apollo Hospital said Jagruthi was responding well to treatment. The doctors have advised the police against questioning the girl immediately since it would hamper her rehabilitation. Investigators suspect that the murder was committed by someone close to the family, since there was no sign of forcible entry. Besides, all items, including jewellery, were in order.

“The victim must have been caught off guard when the murderer stabbed her.” The investigators have recovered a serrated knife from a gutter, barely a few metres from the house. It has been sent to a forensic laboratory for analysis.

The TV was tuned in to Cartoon Network

When neighbours found the body ofJyothi Lakshmi lying on the floor of the bedroom with stab injuries, and her five-year-old daughter lying unconscious near her in Venkatadri Layout in J P Nagar on Friday morning, the television was tuned to Cartoon Network channel.

A photo of five-year-old sat on top of the TV, which was turned on overnight. The decorative paper cutting with words 'Happy Birthday' was strung along the wall in the hall with a sofa set, on which some stuffed toys of the little one along with a half eaten bowl of an egg-based dish was kept.

The neighbours said the five-year-old was lying on the floor with her eyes open beside her mother's body. The police said that she was in an extremely nervous state and also tearful and doctors had advised a few days rest. The girl's maternal grandparents are with her.

None of the neighbours on the floors below and above the house seemed to have heard anything during the night. But, a senior police official claimed they had some vital clues. The murder is suspected to have taken place around 8.30 p.m. as Jyothi's father had been trying to contact her around that time and was unable to reach her.

Neighbours said that the mother-daughter duo was extremely good-natured and did not have any issues with anyone since they rented out the house in the area. The mother-daughter duo would usually be seen together as the girl was being dropped to school. “Jyothi's parents visited her quite often and sometimes the girl's father, Hemachandra, would come to meet her or take her out on weekends,” they said. Jyothi Lakshmi, an MBA graduate who had been working with a software firm, was the only daughter of Chikkamma and Narsaiah, a retired employee of Kirloskar, who live in Rajajinagar. Hemachandra had visited the house after the murder came to light.