The Bengaluru police have arrested a 31-year-old surgeon accused of killing his wife by administering a high dose of anaesthetic medication nearly six months ago. Initially, the doctor had claimed that his wife’s death was natural, but the postmortem findings contradicted his statement, revealing the presence of an anaesthetic substance in her body.

 

According to police, 29-year-old dermatologist Dr Kruthika M Reddy was declared dead on arrival at Cauvery Hospital on April 24 after her parents discovered her unconscious in her room. She had been residing with them at the time. Investigators said that three days prior, she had complained of gastritis and was being treated by her husband, Dr Mahendra Reddy G S.

 

Authorities stated that Dr Mahendra had been administering her medication through IV drips. Around noon on April 23, Dr Kruthika reportedly messaged him on WhatsApp asking if she could remove the IV line due to pain, but he advised against it and later returned to continue the treatment himself.

 

While Dr Mahendra and his family initially maintained that there was no need for an autopsy, Dr Kruthika’s sister, Dr Nikitha Reddy, a radiologist, insisted that one be conducted. Following her request, the Marathahalli police registered a case of unnatural death and sent samples to the forensic laboratory for testing.

 

The forensic report, which arrived months later, confirmed that Dr Kruthika had been injected with propofol, a restricted anaesthetic drug generally used only in operating theatres. Based on this evidence, police reclassified the case as murder and arrested Dr Mahendra from Manipal in Udupi district.

 

In a statement, Kruthika’s father, Muni Reddy K, said, “My daughter had complete faith in her husband — both as a partner and as a doctor. Sadly, the same medical skill that should save lives was used to take hers. We demand the strictest punishment for this deliberate crime and justice for our daughter, whose death is a tragedy for our family and a loss to society.”