Bengaluru:
Former Karnataka Police chief Om Prakash, who was found dead at his Bengaluru home yesterday, fought with his wife Pallavi in the afternoon. During this fight, she allegedly threw chilli powder at him, tied him up and then stabbed him to death, sources have said. The 68-year-old was also attacked with a glass bottle.
After the murder, the retired officer’s wife spoke to the wife of another cop and told her that she had killed her husband, the sources said. The woman she called told her husband, who informed the cops. On reaching the crime scene, police detained Pallavi and their daughter. The mother and daughter have now been questioned for about 12 hours.
The wife, Pallavi, according to sources, is the prime suspect in the shocking murder of the former police chief. Om Prakash’s body has multiple stab wounds on the abdomen and chest and two knives appear to have been used in the attack.
According to reports, Om Prakash and Pallavi had an altercation over property he had transferred to a relative. This quarrel turned physical and she is suspected of having stabbed him. Police are investigating whether his daughter played a role in the murder. A case has been registered based on a complaint by Om Prakash’s son. Kartikeya, the top cop’s son, has said in his complaint that his mother and sister had been suffering from depression and had threatened to kill his father. Following the threats, Om Prakash moved to his sister’s home. He came back two days before the murder when his daughter met him and insisted he return, Kartikeya has said.
“My mother, Mrs. Pallavi, had been threatening to kill my father, Mr. Omprakash (Retired DGP and IGP), for the past week. Due to these threats, my father had gone to stay at the residence of his sister, Ms. Saritha Kumari. Two days ago, my younger sister Kruthi went to Ms. Saritha Kumari’s house and pressured my father, Mr. Omprakash, to return home. She brought him back against his will,” he has said. Kartikeya has said he was not at home at the time of the crime and that his neighbor called and informed him that his father was lying downstairs.
“I rushed home around 5:45 pm and found police officers and members of the public present at the scene. My father was lying in a pool of blood with injuries to his head and body. A broken bottle and a knife were found next to his body. He was then taken to St. John’s Hospital. My mother, Mrs. Pallavi, and my sister, Kruthi, have been suffering from depression and used to fight with my father frequently. I strongly suspect that they are involved in the murder of my father,” he has said.
Bengaluru Additional Commissioner of Police Vikas Kumar said police were informed around 4 am about the retired officer’s death.
Om Prakash was an Indian Police Service officer of the 1981 batch. He was appointed Director General of Police in March 2015. Before that, he also headed Fire and Emergency Services and Home Guards. Originally from Bihar, he held a Master’s degree in Geology.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said, “Retired Director General of Police On Prakash has been murdered. Preliminary information indicates his wife committed the crime, but it’s under investigation. We have to wait. He worked with me when I was Home Minister in 2015, he was a good officer and a good human being. This shouldn’t have happened. Investigation will reveal everything.”
