Bengaluru techie murders wife over argument, stuffs body in suitcase

Bengaluru:

The most appalling incident has come out of Bengaluru where a 36 year old tech professional is accused of murdering his wife and then trying to dispose off her body in a suitcase. Her name has been identified as Gouri Anil Sambrekar (32 years old), and her husband Rakesh Rajendra Khedekar is the accused. The couple was based in Maharashtra but had changed base to Doddakannahalli, in Hulimavu, Bengaluru, about a month before the tragedy.

The deadly fight ended in the late evening of 26 March 2025 as police sources reported. At around 7.30 pm, the couple came back after going on a walk and they had some snacks and liquor like they always did. As revealed by Rakesh in his confession, the conflict started after Gouri started playing a Marathi song that they both did not like, and also played the air near him in order to mock him. Which enraged his temper and whilst arguing it is alleged that Gouri threw a kitchen knife on her husband.

Then in a twist of tragedy, Rakesh has been said to have picked up the knife and stabbed Gouri twice in the neck and once in the stomach around 8:45 to 9:00 pm. it has been reported that the injuries have been directed by the same knife that has led to her death at the scene.

It is said that Rakesh continued to stay in the flat all night, talking to the lifeless body of Gouri and at other times asking her questions about their differences and work related frustrations. The previous night, Gouri had thrown out a suitcase in anticipation of a possible move back to Mumbai because of the failure to secure a job.

When he was sure that she was dead, Rakesh put her into the suitcase but in the process of taking the case into the bathroom to drain the blood, an attempt that he made, the handle broke out. The suitcase was finally left anywhere close to the bathroom outlet and he then washed up the flat only to get away in the direction North at around 12:45 am locking the door behind him.

Rakesh would later make about 800km travel to Shirwal in Maharashtra. In the process he supposedly ingested poison as a method of suicide. He was found in the unconscious state of Satara district and later admitted to the hospital in Pune on 27 March 2025.

By following a call detail record he was tracked by law enforcers after he had confessed to both the brother of Gouri and the landlord of the flat. By 2 April 2025, after having been stabilized enough to be transported, policemen of the Bengaluru Hulimavu unit contacted their Maharashtra counterparts and arrested him.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Sarah Fathima said that Gouris body was found with several stab injuries in the suitcase in a still intact condition. She added that officials are probing on to the continuing domestic issues and financial strains that the couple seemed to have gone into that night.

In an interview, Rakesh is said to have argued being provoked into violence by constant offenses against his family. He has been quoted as saying, that Gouri used to complain about my father,  mother and sister.

The case with the police is open. The serious doubts have been cast about the nature of their marital conflict, unexpected loss of motivation by Gouri to continue working and his presence of weapon on the side of Rakesh. Investigators wait until after post mortem, forensic reports in making final charges.

The grotesque ugliness of this case has shook Bengaluru and highlighted the issue of domestic violence, mental health and the closed tensions inside marriages.