Leela was stabbed to death by her boyfriend Dinakar in front of her office on Tuesday evening in full public view, informed the police.
A police team in front of the victim's office conducting inquiries on Wednesday. (Supplied)
Twenty-eight-year-old Dinakar Banala had come prepared with a weapon — a knife that he had purchased at a supermarket — to stab his girlfriend of five years Leela Pavithra Nalamati (25). He knew full well that she would turn down his marriage proposal.
Banala — who stabbed his girlfriend to death in broad daylight on a busy Bengaluru street on Tuesday, 28 February — had been planning the confrontation for the past two to three days, the police said.
The accused, Dinakar Banala. (Supplied)
Preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused was waiting for Leela to step out of the office as she had already blocked his number, so there was also no way to call her out in the pretext of talking to her, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Division, Bhimashankar Guled told South First.
Banala had arrived around 6.30 pm at Omega Healthcare Management Services Private Limited where Leela worked, located on Wind Tunnel Road in Murugeshpalya on Tuesday, and lay in wait for her, the police said.
Banala was working at Logis Healthcare in Domlur and was staying at a paying guest accommodation in the same area. He is a native of Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, while Leela was from Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.
According to the police, the two had grown close over the past five years as they worked in the same field — healthcare companies. After coming to Bengaluru, the two had decided to get married.
However, Leela’s parents opposed their relationship because Banala belonged to a different caste. As her family members started advising her to stay away from Banala, she began distancing herself from him recently.
After Leela blocked his number, Dinakar decided to confront her regarding her decision, the police said.
The victim, Leela Pavithra Nalamati. (Supplied)
According to the police, Dinakar arrived at her office on Tuesday to ask her one last time for her reason for deciding against marrying him.
Soon after Banala confronted Leela, heated arguments ensued between the two, after which Banala pulled out the knife and started stabbing Leela all over.
“Leela was stabbed in the neck, chest, abdomen, shoulders several times,” the police said.
“Based on the injuries she had sustained, the doctors informed the police that the victim was stabbed at least 16 times, which led to her death on the spot due to profuse bleeding,” a senior police officer told South First.
DCP Bhimashankar Guled along with the investigating officer at the murder spot on Wednesday. (Supplied)
The spine-chilling incident happened in full public view in front of Leela’s workplace.
A few passersby informed the police who rushed to the spot and secured the accused Dinakar Banala and seized his weapon too. The cops shifted Leela to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead.
Her family members were informed after which her body was shifted by the cops for postmortem.
The Jeevan Bhima Nagar police has registered a case of murder and are recording statements of Banala, who has confessed to his crime, the police said.
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