By IANS,
New Delhi/Bangalore : Padmapriya, wife of Karnataka’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Raghupathi Bhat who was missing for the past five days, was found dead Sunday in a Delhi apartment, a top police official confirmed.
“Padmapriya’s body was found hanging from the ceiling of Shama Apartments in Dwarka Sector 10 late Saturday night,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Delhi) Shalini Singh told IANS.
Singh said a case was registered and investigations were under way. Padmapriya’s body was sent to the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital for the post-mortem examination.
The police suspected Padmapriya committed suicide.
Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP) K.R. Srinivasan told IANS in Bangalore: “Padmapriya, 35, has committed suicide by hanging. Her body was found in an apartment at Dwaraka in west Delhi by our police team.”
Unconfirmed reports say Bhat reached Delhi earlier in the day.
The Karnataka police first reported Friday that Padmapriya was missing from Kunjargiri near Udupi, in western Karntaka, since June 11 after her car was found abandoned, with her mobile phone SIM card and some broken bangles.
Udupi is about 70 km from Mangalore on the west coast and about 300 km from Bangalore.
“When we got a clue Saturday that she was in Delhi, a two-member police team was flown yesterday evening to trace her with the help of Delhi Police. By the time our team could locate the place, she had committed suicide,” Srinivasan said.
The state police team was waiting for autopsy and completion of formalities in Delhi before handing over Padmapriya’s body to her family.
“We are waiting for the post-mortem and other formalities to be completed. We don’t know whether the body will be flown to Bangalore or Mangalore Monday. It has to be decided in consultation with her family members.
Ironically, quoting police sources, local media reported that Padmapriya was traced at Malur near Kolar, about 100 km from Bangalore with her friend by name Atul, said to be an architect in Udupi.
Bhat, 39, was re-elected from the Udupi constituency in the state assembly election last month. The couple has two sons.