BENGALURU: What initially appeared to be a tragic death in a house fire has now been revealed as a premeditated murder. Police have arrested a second-year pre-university student for allegedly killing a 34-year-old software engineer and setting her apartment on fire to destroy evidence.
The victim, Sharmila Kushalappa, a native of Mangaluru, worked with Accenture and lived alone in a rented flat in Subramanya Layout, Ramamurthynagar. On the night of January 3, she was found unconscious inside her locked two-bedroom apartment after a fire broke out. She was rushed to hospital but was declared dead. Initial suspicion was smoke inhalation, a theory later overturned by investigators.
The accused, Karnal Kurai K, a second-year PU student from Arasunagar in Virajpet town of Kodagu district, lived with his mother in the same building, in the adjacent flat on the second floor. He has been arrested and remanded to three days of police custody.
The investigation took a decisive turn after forensic and postmortem reports revealed that Sharmila’s injuries were sustained before the fire and were inconsistent with accidental burns. Ramamurthynagar police began probing the case after receiving a complaint from Sharmila’s friend, K Rohit, who expressed suspicion over her death.
According to police, around 10.30 pm on the night of the incident, the building owner noticed smoke coming from Sharmila’s apartment and alerted the fire department. Firefighters broke open the locked door, extinguished the blaze, and found her lying motionless near the kitchen.
Investigators noted injuries on her hands and signs of a struggle inside the flat. The autopsy indicated that she had been smothered, causing loss of consciousness prior to the fire.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed to the crime. Police said he entered Sharmila’s flat through a sliding window around 9 pm. When she confronted him, he expressed his feelings, which she rejected and asked him to leave. Enraged, he allegedly held her mouth and nose shut.
Bloodstains from her mouth and nose were later found on her clothes. To destroy evidence, the accused allegedly removed the clothes and set them on fire before escaping through the same window. The fire subsequently spread to other parts of the flat.
