Domestic help rapes elderly Bengaluru woman, kills her, then dies by suicide

BENGALURU: A 65-year-old woman was allegedly raped and murdered at her home in KAS Colony, in BTM Layout second stage, near Silk Board.According to police, the suspect — a domestic help — was later found dead by suicide inside the same house. The woman has been identified as Savitha Shankar, 65. The accused, Devaraju, 50, from Hosur, Tamil Nadu, was employed as a domestic help at her residence. Police said the crime occurred around midnight on Saturday and came to light in the early hours of Sunday, at about 4.30am, when Saritha’s husband returned home from Dubai. According to police, the husband rang the doorbell on arrival. Their 27-year-old daughter, who was asleep on the first floor, opened the door and returned to her room. When the husband later entered the ground-floor bedroom, he found Saritha dead, while Devaraju was discovered hanging in the same room. Police said the daughter was unaware of the incident as she was on a different floor of the house at the time. After receiving information, personnel from the Mico Layout police station rushed to the spot and carried out a detailed inspection. Senior officials, including Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-East) Mohammad Sujeetha MS, also visited the scene and gathered details. Both bodies were shifted to a mortuary for post-mortem examinations. Mico Layout police have registered a case and are continuing the investigation.