BENGALURU: Rakesh Rajendra Khedekar, 36, who killed his 32-year-old wife, Gouri Anil Sambrekar, on the night of March 26, confessed to the police that after killing her, he sat next to her body and spoke to it throughout the night.
Rakesh was caught by the police late on Thursday evening, just minutes before he was about to surrender at Shirwal police station near Pune. He admitted to the police that he and his wife had fought over her job just before dinner.
Rakesh had moved to Bengaluru from Maharashtra a month ago and was working as a senior project coordinator at Hitachi Systems India under a work-from-home arrangement. Before relocating, Gouri had quit her job at a private firm in Maharashtra.
After arriving in Bengaluru, she applied for jobs but was unable to secure a suitable one. Rakesh told the police that Gouri blamed him for her unemployment and insisted on returning to Maharashtra, leading to frequent arguments.
On the night of the incident, a fight broke out over the same issue. Rakesh lost his temper when Gouri started blaming him and slapped her. In response, she grabbed a kitchen knife and threw it at him, causing a minor injury. Enraged, Rakesh stabbed her multiple times in the neck, a senior police officer said.
He Spoke to the Body All Night
After Gouri succumbed to her injuries, Rakesh sat beside her body, talking to it throughout the night. According to an investigating officer, he repeatedly questioned her about why she fought with him, why she blamed him for her unemployment, and why she resented their move to Bengaluru.
The next morning, Rakesh stuffed Gouri’s body into a trolley suitcase and placed it in the bathroom. He later told police that he was unsure why he did this. At around 12:15 pm, he locked the house and drove his Honda City towards Pune.
Between 5.00 and 5.15pm, he called a tenant living on the ground floor and initially claimed that his wife had committed suicide, asking them to check on her. Moments later, however, he confessed to having killed her. He also alerted the house owner, who rushed to the scene and informed the police.
The authorities, acting swiftly, tracked Rakesh’s movements and, with assistance from the Maharashtra police, detained him.
Didn’t Have Dinner
Gouri had prepared white rice and kurma for dinner, but after the fight and her death, Rakesh did not eat. When police arrived at the scene, they found the rice untouched in the cooker. He later told investigators that he hadn’t eaten anything before leaving home.
Before attempting to surrender, Rakesh consumed phenyl in an apparent suicide attempt. However, the police, who had been tracking his movements, found him in time and rushed him to a nearby hospital. He is currently out of danger and receiving treatment.
Bengaluru police, who are in Maharashtra, are awaiting medical clearance to present Rakesh before a local court and obtain a transit warrant to bring him back to the city for further investigation.
Meanwhile, Gouri’s family has arrived in Bengaluru and is assisting the police with postmortem procedures.
