Why was ‘brave’ Karnataka government officer murdered?

A murder in Bengaluru has left the city shocked. On Sunday, a 43-year-old government worker employed with the Karnataka Department of Mines and Geology was found murdered at her residence in south Bengaluru. The victim was identified by Prathima KS. She was found with her throat slit at her house in Doddakallasandra in Subramanyapura police limits. A day later, a suspect has been arrested – a driver who was sacked from the department a few days ago. Here’s everything we know about the murder case so far. Who was Prathima KS? Prathima KS was a 45-year-old geologist with Karnataka’s mines and geology department. She lived in a double-storied independent house alone and worked as a senior geologist in the city. Her husband Suryanarayan, resides near Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district, which is 300 km from Bengaluru, and works as a farmer. He was earlier a primary school teacher. They have a 16-year-old son who studies in a school in Mangaluru. According to the police, the couple was not on good terms but family members denied this. Prathima’s relative Vishnu told The Times of India, “We’re shocked Prathima was murdered. She didn’t have any issues with the family. She was a daring and prompt official.” The geologist was reportedly ordered to conduct raids on illegal mining activities last month. She also investigated some high-profile cases one of which was of illegal quarrying. According to a report by The News Minute, Prathima conducted a physical examination of a quarrying site, after which she submitted a report to the government quoting a loss of Rs 25.35 lakh. Following this, an FIR was filed against a BJP MLA and three others. Colleagues describe Prathima as brave and proactive. Dinesh, who worked closely with the woman, said that she recently conducted raids. “Prathima was a very dynamic lady. She was very brave too. Be it raids or any action, she earned a great reputation in the department,” Dinesh, a senior officer at the department, told India Today. “She didn’t make any enemies. According to the new rules, she did her work well and earned a great name,” he added. According to Dayananda KA, deputy commissioner of Bengaluru Urban, Prathima did not have work pressure. The two had met for work recently when she had spoken to him about “challenges being faced to control the entry of lorries from Tamil Nadu”. “She was a proactive and positive officer. We had a review meeting a month ago and had told her to control illegal mining. The focus was to monitor the lorries transporting gravel stones from Tamil Nadu,” the senior official, who visited the crime scene was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. Prathima’s work involved travelling across the city, especially its more rural areas. She has been working in Bengaluru for four years. She completed her Master’s degree from a college in Shivamogga. [caption id=“attachment_13355192” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Colleagues describe Prathima as a brave officer[/caption] What do we know about the murder? Prathima was in her office until 6 pm on Saturday and returned to her house by 8 pm. She was dropped off in an office vehicle. The murder came to light around 8.30 am on Sunday. According to the police, Prathima had called her younger brother, a civil contractor, on Saturday night. When he returned his sister’s call on Saturday she did not answer. He called her back on Sunday and her phone was switched off. When he came to Prathima’s house, she was found dead. “The grill door [of her house] was latched from inside but it could have been done by anyone by inserting their hands in the gap,” an officer said. Subramanyapura Police found the geologist dead on the floor. “Her throat has been slit and prima facie, no valuables have gone missing from her house,” a police officer said. A murder case was registered. [caption id=“attachment_13355252” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Prathima worked with the Karnataka Department of Mines and Geology was a senior geologist, as her office identity card shows[/caption] Further investigation revealed that Prathima was murdered inside her room. She was first strangulated and then her throat was slit. “We are awaiting the post-mortem report. There was no forced entry to the house and no valuables have been missing. Someone known to her has entered the house and killed her,” a senior police officer was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad said, “We suspect she might have been murdered at night. Three teams have been formed for the investigations.” Who murdered Prathima and why? The police arrested a former driver for the murder. According to Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayanand, a suspect was taken into custody in connection to the murder case. “He was working as a driver and he was removed from the work, probably seven to 10 days earlier,” he told the media. Prathima’s former driver, identified as Kiran, has confessed to his crime, sources told NDTV. He was an on-contract government employee for the past five years. After the department asked him to leave, his phone was switched off. According to the police, Kiran had visited Prathima’s residence to plead that he be hired back. An official close to the investigation told News18 that the driver had financial troubles, his wife was pregnant, and he was desperate to get his job back. Police officers also said that Kiran was involved in an accident two months ago. There was suspicion that he was leaking information about impending raids by Prathima’s department against illegal mining activities, News18 reports. The driver was reportedly waiting for Prathima to return home on Saturday. He confronted her at her flat and then strangled her in a fit of rage. He then took a knife from the kitchen to make it look like a robbery attempt gone wrong. Kiran then fled to Chamarajanagar, which is around 200 km from Bengaluru, the NDTV report says. Karnataka chief minister K Siddaramaiah has vowed justice for the murdered woman. With inputs from agencies