Karjat: Nearly a month after a woman’s body was found stuffed inside a pink suitcase on the Karjat-Lonavala railway track on April 16, police have cracked the case with the arrest of two accused from a hotel in Bengaluru. The arrested individuals, identified as V Vijaykumar Venkatesh (26), a B.Tech graduate, and his friend T Yashaswini Raja Tatikolu (24), a postgraduate, allegedly murdered their friend Dhanlaxmi Reddy (34), an MSc in biotechnology, following a heated argument that turned violent.
Details On The Crime
According to a Times of India report quoting the Karjat police, the suspects boarded a train from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in Mumbai on the night of April 15. CCTV footage from the station shows them dragging a pink trolley bag, later identified as the one in which the victim’s body was discovered. They had booked tickets for the Mumbai-Coimbatore Express, and their reservation was for an AC coach.
Police believe the suitcase containing the body was thrown off the moving train near Thakurwadi station, just before reaching Lonavala. Senior inspector Surendra Garad of Karjat police said investigators suspect the accused waited for a secluded stretch before disposing of the body.
The probe was aided by extensive technical surveillance and CCTV analysis. Officers scanned over 250 CCTV camera visuals across multiple railway stations to track the suspects’ movements. Assistant inspector Shivaji Dhavale of Neral police said that while the duo was last seen boarding a train to Coimbatore, their phone locations were traced to Bengaluru, leading the police to a hotel where they were hiding.
Accused Sent To Police Custody Till May 16
Following their arrest in Bengaluru, the two were brought back to Maharashtra and remanded in police custody until May 16. During interrogation, the accused reportedly confessed to the murder, stating that a personal dispute had escalated, resulting in Dhanlaxmi’s death.
The case, initially shrouded in mystery with little to go on apart from the suitcase and the railway track discovery, saw major progress through detailed forensic and surveillance efforts. Investigators are now probing the deeper motive behind the murder and the nature of the trio’s relationship.
