BENGALURU: Months after Bengaluru police unravelled the sudden and mysterious death of young doctor Dr Krutika Reddy last year and arrested her husband, surgeon Dr Mahendra Reddy, investigators on Friday filed a voluminous 2,322-page chargesheet before a local court in Bengaluru.As many as 23 doctors have recorded their statements in connection with the murder case. In total, statements of 77 witnesses—including family members, colleagues and friends of the deceased—have been examined by the investigating team, police said.
Special public prosecutor P Prasanna Kumar said five major and clinching pieces of evidence strongly establish the prosecution’s case against Dr Mahendra Reddy and are likely to lead to his conviction. He credited Marathahalli police inspector Anil Kumar PN and sub-inspector Ravichandra SA for their meticulous efforts in gathering multiple forms of evidence that helped build a strong case.One of the key pieces of evidence is a voluntary statement given by the accused to police. “I administered medicine through a cannula (intravenous pipe) to my wife on the night of April 23. We slept at midnight. Around 4.30am, I woke up and removed the cannula,” Dr Mahendra Reddy stated. According to the prosecution, this statement places the accused with the victim during the crucial hours leading up to her death.The prosecutor also said medical evidence revealed traces of propofol anaesthesia in Dr Krutika’s body. “The traces were also found on her legs, indicating that the drug was administered through the legs,” he said, pointing to clear signs of external administration.Soon after Dr Krutika’s death, the accused allegedly opposed a postmortem examination and pressured his father-in-law and others to resist an autopsy, claiming that the body would be cut into pieces. “Being a doctor, he knew an autopsy would reveal the real cause of death,” Prasanna Kumar said.The prosecution has also produced circumstantial and electronic evidence showing that Dr Mahendra Reddy himself purchased propofol from a pharmacist. “He made the payment online using his own mobile phone and his own bank account,” the prosecutor noted. Additionally, after Dr Krutika’s death, the accused allegedly sent messages to a woman friend through a payment app, stating that he had killed his wife for her. When the woman replied that she had not accepted such an act, he allegedly responded that he would remain a killer while she should live happily. “These messages clearly establish the motive and amount to a confession by the accused,” Prasanna Kumar said.
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