In a shocking incident, a 39-year-old female Chief Executive Officer of a startup allegedly killed her four-year-old son in Goa and subsequently travelled with the deceased's body to the neighbouring state of Karnataka. The Goa police apprehended the accused, identified as Suchana Seth, in Karnataka's Chitradurga, on Sunday night. The motive behind the incident is yet to be determined, a police official said.
What did police say about accused?
According to Seth's LinkedIn page, she is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of start-up Mindful AI Lab and was among the top '100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics for 2021'. Calangute police station inspector Paresh Naik said that she checked into a rented service apartment at Candolim in North Goa on January 6 along with her son. After a two-day stay, she informed the apartment staff of her intention to travel to Bengaluru for work and requested assistance in arranging a taxi, Naik stated. "The staff suggested that she could take a flight to Bengaluru which would be a cheaper option rather than hiring a taxi which is an expensive proposition," he added.
Accused tried to mislead police
The accused insisted that she would travel by taxi only, and accordingly, a vehicle was arranged on January 8 in which she left early morning. Later, when the apartment staff went to clean the room in which she stayed, they found blood stains on a towel, Naik said. "The accused told us that the blood stains were due to her monthly periods. She also told us that her son was with her friend in Margao town (in South Goa) and provided the address," the official said. The police also said that the accused did not have cordial relations with her husband and their divorce proceeding in the court is in its final stage.
How police found child's body?
Upon discovering that the address provided by Suchana Seth was false, Inspector Paresh Naik sought assistance from the Fatorda police near Margao. Further investigation revealed that the given location was not genuine. Naik, in collaboration with the authorities, contacted the taxi driver transporting the accused to Bengaluru, who had reached Chitradurga district in Karnataka. The police in Chitradurga inspected the woman's bag and found the lifeless body of the child.
Police obtain transit remand of accused
Subsequently, a team from the Calangute police hastened to Chitradurga, securing a transit remand for the accused. She is now being transported back to Goa. The postmortem of the child's body is scheduled to take place in Chitradurga. The police have informed the accused's husband, Venkat Raman, who is presently in Jakarta, about the incident.
