New Delhi: On a sombre Wednesday morning, a residence in the Avalahalli area in Bengaluru became the scene of a chilling domestic tragedy. Nageshwar Rao, a 65-year-old retired employee of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was taken into custody after allegedly strangling his wife, Sandya Sri, to death with a towel.
The incident, which came to light around 11:00 AM, has stunned investigators who are now peeling back the layers of what appears to be a desperate act fueled by mental health struggles rather than domestic malice. According to preliminary police reports, Rao did not flee the scene after the killing. Instead, he remained in the house and contacted an acquaintance to confess. That individual immediately alerted the local authorities.
The motive, as outlined by Whitefield Deputy Commissioner of Police Saidulu Adavath, centres on Rao’s deteriorating mental state. “He was reportedly undergoing treatment for depression and was distressed,” Adavath said. Investigators believe that Rao’s original plan was a murder-suicide; he allegedly intended to take his own life immediately after killing his wife. For reasons still under investigation, he did not follow through with the final part of his plan.
A senior officer noted that there were no immediate reports of prior domestic disputes, and no evidence of external involvement has surfaced. The probe is currently focused on Rao’s medical history and the circumstances of his psychiatric treatment to understand the depth of his distress.
The tragedy has left the family’s only daughter, who currently resides in the United States, grappling with the news from thousands of miles away. While a formal murder case has been registered against the former ISRO staffer, the Avalahalli police continue to investigate the dark intersection of isolation and depression that led to this fatal morning.