'Killed the devil' message on phone; Former Karnataka police chief found dead at Bengaluru home

BENGALURU: Former Karnataka police chief Om Prakash (68) was found dead in suspicious circumstances on Sunday night. The police chief's body was found lying in a pool of blood in his house in HSR Layout, Bengaluru, at around 5 pm on Sunday. The body was lying on the ground floor of a three-storey building.

Police doubt this to be a murder and have taken the former DGP’s wife Pallavi, into custody.

Pallavi and her daughter are being questioned by the police. Reports are emerging that Om Prakash was stabbed several times in the body. When the police arrived, the wife and daughter were in the living room of the house and refused to open the door even after being asked by the police. The police suspect that the wife and other relatives are involved in the death.

The police have registered a case of unnatural death. The body has been shifted to a hospital for postmortem. Om Prakash is a native of Champaran in Bihar. He is a 1981 batch IPS officer of Karnataka cadre. He has served as the state's DG and IG since 2015. He retired in 2017.

It is reported that Om Prakash and his wife were leading a tough marital life, rife with squabbles.

Pallavi had told Om Prakash's colleagues several times about her husband trying to kill her. Pallavi also reportedly said in a WhatsApp group of IPS officers' wives that Om Prakash had tried to poison her once.

Pallavi on Sunday made a video call to her friend, the wife of a retired IPS officer, and admitted that she had 'killed that devil'. The friend had informed the police, according to national media reports.