PANAJI
The post-mortem report of the four-year-old boy who was murdered at a service apartment in Candolim has revealed that he was likely “smothered” with a pillow or a cloth and that the crime took place at least 36 hours before Suchana Seth (his mother) was caught.
Confirmed sources revealed to The Goan that the post-mortem conducted by a team of doctors ascertained that “Suchana could have used a cloth or a pillow to smother the child. It doesn’t look like she has strangled him with her hands. The child exhibited signs of suffocation, which is evident by the swelling of his face and chest. There was also nose bleeding. The conclusive details are pending the final report,” the sources said.
The forensic doctors at Hiriyur Hospital, led by Medical Officer Dr Rangegowda and Dr Kumar Naik, along with forensic experts conducted the autopsy that lasted for over an hour.
The heinous act unfolded amidst a turbulent marriage with her estranged husband Venkatramana.
Investigations further reveal that Suchana, who checked into the apartment resort on January 6, wanted to hurriedly check out on January 8. Despite cost-friendly flight suggestions from the staff, she opted for a cab to Bengaluru.
The harrowing incident might have gone unnoticed if not for the alert staff of the service apartment Sol Banyan Grande at Candolim, quick response of Calangute police and the cooperation of a local cab driver.
Her plan to escape the police by booking a cab from Goa to Bengaluru at a whopping Rs 30,000 fare and disposing her son’s dead body – stuffed in a luggage bag – en route to her destination, was thwarted by a combination of these efforts.
Calangute police shifted Suchana from Aimangala police station (Chitradurga district in Karnataka) to Goa on transit remand hours after Goa’s counterparts arrested her for the offense. She was subsequently produced before the Mapusa Court where the Judge remanded her to six days of police custody for interrogation.
Showing no remorse for her actions, Suchana chose silence during the remand hearing, stating she would speak only after meeting her lawyer.
“I don’t want to say anything. I haven’t met my lawyer,” is what she said before being shifted from the Court to the Calangute police station.
On the other side, her ex-husband rushed from Indonesia to Karnataka upon receiving the news from Goa Police, late Tuesday evening.
Devastated to see his son’s lifeless body, the Kerala-native -- accompanied by his grieving family outside the hospital mortuary -- thereafter arranged an ambulance to transport the body from Hiriyur Hospital to Bangalore for the final rites.
Earlier, Superintendent of Police (North Goa) Nidhin Valsan held a press conference in Panaji police headquarters stating that while the motive of the killing was immediately not known, prima facie it seems due to a strained relationship between the husband-wife.
“The divorce proceedings were in final stages and she was not happy (with the order),” the officer said, adding that her interrogation would throw more light on the case.
This Sunday when she killed him, Venkatramana had inquired why she had not sent his son to meet him, but she replied that they were already in Goa for a holiday.
Sources revealed that the Court granted visiting rights to Venkatramana every Sunday but unhappy with the order, she planned to kill the child.
“It certainly looks to be a planned murder. She did not want her husband to visit their son on any day, anytime. She thus organised a short vacation to Goa, away from her family, friends and colleagues to avoid any suspicion and executed the murder,” the source said adding that she attempted suicide by slitting her wrist but since the injuries were not serious, she managed to travel on her own with the luggage and her child’s concealed body.
