Shocking Case: Bengaluru Doctor Allegedly Uses Anesthesia To Kill Wife

Six months after the sudden death of 28-year-old dermatologist Dr. Kruthika Reddy was initially written off as natural, Bengaluru Police revealed it was a cold-blooded murder planned with surgical precision. Her husband, Dr. Mahendra Reddy, was arrested on October 14 for allegedly killing her by administering a fatal dose of anesthesia under the pretext of treatment.

The couple had married less than a year earlier, on May 26, 2024.

According to police, Mahendra used his medical expertise and deep knowledge of his wife’s health to execute the crime.



“Mahendra had planned his wife’s murder meticulously. He knew her medical vulnerabilities and used his professional knowledge to exploit them,” said Whitefield DCP M Parashuram.

Meticulous Planning Behind the Murder

Investigators said the sequence of events began on April 21, when Mahendra administered an IV medication to Kruthika at their home, claiming it was for gastric discomfort. The next day, he took her to her parents’ house in Marathahalli, saying she needed rest, only to return that night to give another IV dose.

By April 23, Kruthika began complaining of pain at the IV site. Mahendra allegedly advised her via WhatsApp not to remove it, assuring he would come again that night. Around 9:30 pm, he entered her room and injected her with another dose which would prove fatal.

The next morning, April 24, Kruthika was found unresponsive. Despite being a trained doctor, Mahendra made no attempt to perform CPR. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.

Subsequent postmortem and FSL reports revealed traces of anesthetic substances in her organs confirming the death was not natural.

From Medical Mystery to Murder Case

What initially seemed like a tragic medical event took a dark turn after Kruthika’s father, K. Muni Reddy, filed a complaint suspecting foul play.

“Our daughter believed her marriage was built on respect and love. But the same medical knowledge that should have healed others was used to end her life,” he said.

Police later found that Mahendra had grown bitter after discovering that Kruthika suffered from gastric and metabolic disorders, which her family allegedly had not disclosed before marriage. This resentment, investigators believe, fueled his premeditated plan to poison her.
Even after his wife’s death, Mahendra reportedly remained calm and emotionless, insisting that the death was natural. His composed behavior initially misled both family and police.

But once the forensic findings came in, authorities reclassified the case as murder and booked Mahendra under Section 103 (Murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh praised the investigators for “unraveling a murder that had been disguised as a medical tragedy.”

A Life Cut Short

Dr. Kruthika Reddy was on the verge of launching her own skin clinic, Skin & Scalpel, on May 4, just days after her death.

A bright dermatologist, she completed her MBBS at Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences, MD from Navodaya Medical College, Raichur, and later a DNB in Dermatology, Venereology, and Leprosy from NBEMS.

Her colleagues at Victoria Hospital remembered her as a compassionate and driven doctor.

“She always spoke about empowering women through dermatology,” said one colleague. “It’s devastating that her own husband betrayed that trust.”