Bengaluru: Days after a four-year-old boy was allegedly murdered in Goa by his mother Suchana Seth, the chief executive officer (CEO) of a Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence start-up, his father performed his last rites in Bengaluru on Wednesday morning..

Suchana Seth was arrested on the charges of killing her son in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district while allegedly trying to flee in a cab with his body stuffed in a bag late on Monday. She was arrested on the directions of the Goa police.

The father, Venkatraman PR, who hails from Kerala and is settled in Indonesia, rushed to Bengaluru and proceeded to Chitradurga for the completion of formalities and a post-mortem examination. After the post-mortem examination of his son’s body in Hiriyur in Chitradurga district, Venkatraman brought it to an apartment in Bengaluru where the initial rituals took place. Later the child’s body was taken to the Harishchandra Ghat at Rajaji Nagar where Raman performed the last rites.

Dr Kumar Naik, the government doctor overseeing the autopsy, disclosed on Tuesday that the child was killed more than 36 hours ago, and he was either smothered or strangulated. Dr Naik noted that the absence of injuries on the body suggested the use of an object like a pillow.

“He was killed by smothering, maybe using a cloth or pillow. The boy died due to strangulation. I don’t think he was killed with hands but by using some object like a pillow,” Dr Naik said.

“The boy might have been killed more than 36 hours ago. There were no injuries on the body. The chest veins have swollen due to pressure on the throat. The blood is coming from the boy’s nose which is a sign of strangulation,” he added.

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Suchana and Venkatraman tied the knot in Kolkata in 2010. Differences cropped up in their marriage after the birth of their son in 2019, leading to their separation in 2021 due to frequent disputes. The strained relationship culminated in a divorce suit filed by Suchana and her husband in 2022, police said.

Simultaneously, amidst the legal proceedings related to divorce, Suchana lodged a domestic violence case against Venkataramana, accusing him of causing harm to their son. In response to the petition, the court took preventive measures, restraining Venkataramana from entering the residence shared by Suchana and their son. Additionally, the court imposed restrictions, prohibiting Venkataramana from establishing any form of contact with Suchana and their son.