‘IV injections, message to lover’: 5 chilling details in Bengaluru doctor murder by husband

The breakthrough in the case came when six months later, the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) detected traces of anaesthesia in her body.

Days after a surgeon in Karnataka's Bengaluru was arrested for allegedly murdering his 29-year-old dermatologist wife, new details have emerged in the case.

Mahendra Reddy, a general surgeon, with Dr Kruthika Reddy.

Dr Mahendra Reddy was arrested in October for allegedly killing his wife, Kruthika M Reddy, by administering a fatal dose of anaesthesia in April. The couple had married on May 26, 2024.

Kruthika reportedly fell ill and was rushed to the nearby hospital in Ayyappa Layout, Munnekolalu. The doctors examined her and had declared her brought dead. The accused had attempted to misrepresent Kruthika's death as natural.

The case took a decisive turn six months later when the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) found traces of anaesthesia in her body.

Investigators concluded that respiratory failure caused by anaesthetic overdose had led to her death, prompting police to reclassify the case as murder and arrest Mahendra on October 14.

Dr. Kruthika, a well-regarded dermatologist, had completed her MBBS from Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences, her MD from Navodaya Medical College, Raichur, and later earned a DNB in Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy from NBEMS. She had planned to launch her own clinic, Skin & Scalpel, in Bengaluru on May 4, 2025, just days after her death, as reported by HT.

5 chilling details in the case

• Kruthika was reportedly staying at her father's house in Bengaluru's Marathahalli when she fell unconscious owing to fatigue and illness. Mahendra, during this time, visited her under the pretext of providing medical care. He then administered intravenous (IV) injections containing anaesthetic agents to her over two days.
• On April 23, two days after the first dose, Kruthika complained of pain at the IV site, but Mahendra allegedly advised her over WhatsApp not to remove it. At around 9:30 PM that night, he went to her room and administered the injection. Kruthika was found unresponsive the next day, but despite being a doctor, Mahendra did not perform CPR on her. She was later declared dead.

• While Krutika’s family had accepted that she had died naturally, the police filed an Unnatural Death Report (UDR) based on the hospital memo and her sister, Dr Nikitha Reddy's, insistence on knowing the cause of death.
• A forensic analysis of Mahendra's phone has also revealed that the 32-year-old general surgeon was reportedly in a relationship with another woman.
• He had also sent a message to his lover shortly after committing the crime. The message, sent via a digital payment app, read: “I killed my wife for you.”