When neighbours found the body of 33-year-old Jyothi Lakshmi lying on the floor of the bedroom with stab injuries, and her five-year-old daughter lying unconscious near her in Venkatadri Layout in J P Nagar on Friday morning, the television was tuned to Cartoon Network channel.
A photo of five-year-old sat on top of the TV, which was turned on overnight. The decorative paper cutting with words ‘Happy Birthday’ was strung along the wall in the hall with a sofa set, on which some stuffed toys of the little one along with a half eaten bowl of an egg-based dish was kept.
The neighbours said the five-year-old was lying on the floor with her eyes open beside her mother’s body. The police said that she was in an extremely nervous state and also tearful and doctors had advised a few days rest. The girl’s maternal grandparents are with her.
None of the neighbours on the floors below and above the house seemed to have heard anything during the night. But, a senior police official claimed they had some vital clues. The murder is suspected to have taken place around 8.30 p.m. as Jyothi’s father had been trying to contact her around that time and was unable to reach her.
The incident came to light on Friday when Jyothi’s father grew worried after she did not take calls even in the morning. One of the neighbours, Nagaraj, said that he had received a call from a concerned Narasaiah, asking him to check on Jyothi. As Nagaraj was at work, he called his wife Sushila, who was also contacted by Narsaiah, to check on her. “Narasaiah said that Jyothi’s cellphone had been switched off so he tried calling on the landline at least 10 times but there was no response,” said Sushila who discovered the body when she went to the house.
Neighbours said that the mother-daughter duo was extremely good-natured and did not have any issues with anyone since they rented out the house in the area. The mother-daughter duo would usually be seen together as the girl was being dropped to school. “Jyothi’s parents visited her quite often and sometimes the girl’s father, Hemachandra, would come to meet her or take her out on weekends,” they said. Jyothi Lakshmi, an MBA graduate who had been working with a software firm, was the only daughter of Chikkamma and Narsaiah, a retired employee of Kirloskar, who live in Rajajinagar. Hemachandra had visited the house after the murder came to light.
