Goa Police, who have the custody of Suchana Seth, 39, CEO of an AI start-up in Bengaluru, accused of killing her four-year-old son in Goa on January 8, said they were having a tough time interrogating her, as she has not been consistent with her statements on the crime.
Ms. Seth was apprehended near Aimangala in Chitradurga district on Tuesday, and the body of her child was found in her luggage. She had taken an overnight taxi from a luxury hotel in Goa to Bengaluru. Investigation officers took her to Goa on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the boy’s father, Venkat Raman, and Ms. Seth’s family members buried the boy at Harishchandra Ghat in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Police officers from Calangute police station took the accused to the crime scene in Goa for a spot mahazar.
Contradictory claims
A senior officer in Vasco in Goa said on Wednesday that the accused had made contradictory claims about the offence. “More than once, she denied killing the child. But she did not answer questions about how he died,” a senior officer said.
“She only claimed that she thought he was sleeping. Only after she tried to wake him up to leave for Bengaluru did she find that he was dead, and then she decided to carry his body in a suitcase,’‘ the officer said.
Police are probing the possibility of the victim being administered a medicine that caused temporary drowsiness before he was smothered with a pillow, as suggested by the doctor who conducted the autopsy on the child’s body in Hiriyur, Chitradurga. Hotel staff have told the police that they found two bottles of cough syrup, one of which was sent up to her room after her request.
Officers were not happy with her answers about the blood stains in the room. The stains were found on a towel and the floor.
“She once claimed that she was having her periods to explain the blood stains. But our officers suspect that they were from injuries on her wrist, an indication of an unsuccessful attempt to end her life. But these will be confirmed only after detailed investigation,” a senior officer said.
Custody of child
On the fateful night of January 7, when the boy is suspected to have been killed, call records of Ms. Seth showed she had multiple conversations with her estranged husband Venkat Raman.
“It seems the couple had serious differences over the custody of the child. The father wanted custody, but she had got it. She had also denied him mandatory visitation rights for the last few weeks. She had also not allowed the father to speak to the child over video calls. It seems the father might have raised the issue that fateful night that upset her,” a police officer said.
