Bengaluru horror: Ex-ISRO employee kills wife, was ‘worried about her future after his death’

A 65-year-old retired Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) employee allegedly strangled his wife to death at their residence in Bengaluru. Police said that Nageshwar Rao allegedly killed his wife using a towel as he was worried about her future after his death.

The incident was reported around 11 am within the Avalahalli police station limits. The accused, Nageshwar Rao, has been taken into police custody, authorities added after the dead body of his wife, Sandya Sri Rao, was found at their flat in Virtuoso apartment complex in Bommanahalli area of Whitefield.

Citing the preliminary investigation, a senior police officer said Nageshwar Rao was reportedly undergoing treatment for depression.

The police said that the former ISRO employee also wanted to end his own life after killing Sandya Sri, but he instead informed a relative about it. The relative then alerted the police.

A police team arrived at the residence and took Rao into custody. A case of murder has been registered, and further investigation is underway.

"He was reportedly undergoing treatment for depression and was distressed. He allegedly intended to take his life after the incident, which is why he attacked his wife. There appear to be no other major reasons," said Saidulu Adavath, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Whitefield), PTI reported.

The couple's daughter, who is in the United States, has been informed about the incident, police said. She is returning to Bengaluru.

According to the reports, the couple was originally from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. They had been living in Bengaluru, a Whitefield apartment, for the past three years.

In 2019, an ISRO employee was found murdered in his flat in Hyderabad, Telangana. SR Suresh Kumar was an employee of the National Remote Sensing Centre. He was found dead at his flat.

Earlier in December, a techie shot his wife dead while she was returning home from work in Bengaluru. After killing his wife, Balamurugan walked into the Magadi Road police station, confessed to the crime and surrendered, police said.

It was later revealed that Balamurugan, a software engineer, wanted a hitman to do the job, but it was dropped, police told PTI. Balamurugan doubted her wife's character and they often quarrelled over it, sources said.

During the investigation, it was found that he had approached rowdy-sheeter Moulesh from Salem in Tamil Nadu to accomplish the job, police sources said.