Bengaluru Shocker: 72-Year-Old Retired ISRO Employee Strangles Wife, 65, With A Towel In Apartment, Confesses To Neighbour: ‘Was Anxious About Her…’

A 72-year-old retired ISRO employee, Nagaleshwar Rao, allegedly strangled his wife, Sandhya Sri, inside their Bengaluru apartment under Avalahalli police limits.

Published by Ashish Kumar Singh
Published: February 18, 2026 16:01:23 IST

Former ISRO employee murders wife inside their apartment

Bengaluru Murder Case: A 72-year-old retired ISRO employee, Nagaleshwar Rao, strangled his wife, Sandhya Sri, 65, inside their Bommanahalli apartment on Wednesday morning.

Retired ISRO employee strangles wife in Bengaluru

The couple lived under the Avalahalli police station limits in Whitefield, and the incident unfolded around 10:30 am.

Police say Rao, who once led a team at ISRO, had been struggling with mental health issues lately. He apparently decided to take his own life, but before that, he killed his wife, who was a painter.

As per reports, he was worried about his wife’s future.

Shocking confession to neighbour

After the incident, Rao called a neighbour around 11 am and confessed to what he’d done. The neighbour quickly reached out to a family doctor, who then alerted the police.

When officers arrived, they found Sandhya Sri unresponsive and took Rao into custody. They sent the body for a postmortem.

The couple originally came from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, and had been living alone in the apartment for the past three years. Their daughter lives in New Jersey, USA.

Police have registered a murder case at Avalahalli station and are waiting for the family to arrive for further investigation.

70-year-old retired BMTC employee killed by son

In another shocking murder case, a 70-year-old retired BMTC employee, Munikrishnappa, was killed on Saturday night in Indiranagar, apparently by his own son during a fight over family property.

Munikrishnappa owned property worth several crores, and arguments with his kids about who gets what weren’t uncommon. Things seemed to get worse after he wrote a will that gave some assets to his grandchildren.

That night, Munikrishnappa took his dog out for a walk. His son, Mohan Kumar, showed up, picked a fight, and then attacked him with a hockey stick and an iron rod. The injuries were fatal.

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