The Bengaluru police on Wednesday arrested a 31-year-old surgeon for allegedly killing his wife, also a doctor, by giving her a high dose of anaesthetic six months ago. The accused, identified as Dr Mahendra Reddy GS, was taken into custody from Manipal in Udupi district.
According to police, the victim, Dr Kruthika M Reddy, 29, was found unresponsive in her room on April 24 and was declared dead on arrival at Cauvery Hospital. At the time, her husband had claimed it was a natural death. However, postmortem and forensic reports later confirmed that she had been injected with propofol, an anaesthetic drug usually restricted to operating theatres.
Dr Kruthika had been staying with her parents in Bengaluru before her death. Three days earlier, she had complained of gastritis and was being treated by her husband, who reportedly administered IV drips at home.
On April 23, she messaged her husband on WhatsApp asking if she could remove the IV drip due to pain, but he told her not to and came over again to give her more medication.
Police said Dr Mahendra and his family tried to avoid a postmortem, but Dr Kruthika’s sister, Dr Nikitha Reddy, insisted on it. The test results later revealed the presence of propofol in her system. Following this, her father, Muni Reddy K, filed a complaint accusing his son-in-law of murder.
Police suspect that Dr Mahendra may have obtained the drug from Victoria Hospital, where he worked as a surgeon. Officials added that he will be produced before court and taken into custody for further questioning to uncover the motive, which could involve money or an extramarital affair.
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
