Bengaluru: A civic drive to get property owners to clean vacant sites has unexpectedly helped police uncover a murder and identify the skeletal remains of a woman found in Sampigehalli in north Bengaluru.
The ‘Freedom from Waste’ campaign, launched by Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, led to the discovery when the owner of a vacant site in MS Nagar found skeletal remains while cleaning the premises.
Skeleton found during site clean-up
Police initially had little information to identify the woman. The remains were beyond recognition, while only a few belongings were found nearby, including soiled clothes, bangles and a small Ganesha pendant.
After several days of efforts to trace the woman’s relatives proved unsuccessful, police conducted the last rites. However, investigators continued working on the case in an attempt to establish her identity and determine how she had died.
Among the few clues available was a clothing tag recovered from the remains.
Clothing tag provides first lead
Investigators traced the tag to a hypermarket outlet where the garment had reportedly been purchased. Police obtained a contact number from the store’s records, but their efforts initially failed because one digit in the number recorded during billing was incorrect.
With the clothing trail yielding no immediate breakthrough, investigators turned their attention to the Ganesha pendant.
Their inquiries indicated that similar pendants were commonly worn by people from parts of Odisha. Police subsequently gathered details of people from Odisha living within a 1.5-km radius of the site where the remains were discovered.
During door-to-door inquiries, officers identified eight women living around MS Nagar and collected their contact details.
Police trace missing woman
Most of the women responded to the police, but one number remained unanswered. It belonged to 28-year-old Anusuya Behra.
Investigators then used tower-dump data to identify another mobile number associated with Anusuya. When police called the number, her husband, 32-year-old Sagar Chandra Ravath, answered.
Police visited the couple’s residence in Agrahara Layout. Sagar told them that his wife had gone missing and that he intended to travel to his hometown to search for her.
However, investigators noticed discrepancies in his account.
Police learnt that Sagar had been using Anusuya’s SIM card in his own phone and had been answering calls from her friends.
Frequent quarrels raise suspicion
Further inquiries at the hotel where the couple worked reportedly revealed frequent quarrels between them.
According to police, Anusuya, who also worked at another hotel, had an argument with Sagar on August 11 over her salary.
Investigators also spoke to the owner of the house where the couple had been staying. The owner reportedly confirmed that the couple frequently quarrelled and that Sagar had vacated the house a few days earlier.
The information increased police suspicion, following which Sagar was taken into custody and questioned.
Husband allegedly confesses
During questioning, police said Sagar confessed to strangling Anusuya to death.
According to the police account, he remained in the house with her body for three days. On the fourth day, he allegedly wrapped the body in a bed and tied a rope around it.
Police said he then took the body out around midnight and disposed of it at the vacant site, where it remained concealed by bushes until it was discovered during the clean-up drive.
The investigation subsequently helped establish the identity of the deceased as Anusuya Behra.
Multiple clues help crack case
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-East) GK Mithun Kumar said the case was solved through a combination of several seemingly minor clues.
The investigation relied on the clothing tag, phone numbers, technical analysis and the small Ganesha pendant recovered near the remains.
A police officer said the drive to clean vacant sites helped police locate the woman’s remains and subsequently begin the murder investigation.
The case highlights how a civic initiative aimed at keeping vacant properties clean unexpectedly provided the crucial starting point for investigators to uncover a murder and trace the victim’s identity.