Slain Bangalore Dell employee’s husband detained

Police investigating the murder of a Dell employee have detained her husband for interrogation.

Anant Narayan Mishra, husband of Payal Sureka, was detained on Sunday, a day after one of his former colleagues was picked up. Neither of them was arrested, police said.

Mishra was detained a few hours after he wrote on his Facebook wall, requesting his friends for help. “A lot of things being spoken about my wife’s murder are not true. I am not avoiding the media, but right now trying to help the police with the investigation. I would speak to the media soon… I request all my friends to come out and help me,” he wrote. Payal was on Friday found murdered with multiple stab injuries and a slit throat at the couple’s rented accommodation in JP Nagar.

Meanwhile, Payal’s parents and relatives were suspecting that Mishra had conspired to murder her. They alleged that he looked unperturbed after the murder.

Payal’s father Deen Dayal Sureka said the murder was pre-planned. “He is the murderer. It is a pre-planned one. If he had really loved my daughter, he would have come here. There is a particular benefit in murdering her,” Sureka said, outside the mortuary of Kims Hospital. He added that Payal’s gold ornaments were with Mishra’s mother.

Payal’s younger sister Anita said she felt like killing Mishra. She added that the deceased woman had two mobile phones and one was missing.

Mishra reportedly told Anita that he had spoken to Payal till 2 am on Friday. He said had missed two calls from his wife in the afternoon. When called back, someone kept disconnecting the phone.

Meanwhile, deputy commissioner of police (south) Sonia Narang said the investigators had been questioning a few people, including Mishra. “The post-mortem examination was conducted and we are expecting the report in a day or two,” she said.

Mishra had earlier told the police that he was suspecting a former colleague, an instructor at a city gym. He told the police that his former colleague had threatened to eliminate his family following a fight. Police refused to name Mishra’s former colleague. Mishra was reportedly in Orissa when a home-alone Payal was murdered.

Police have seized Payal’s laptop and Mishra’s mobile phones for further investigation. Officer Narang expressed confidence that the police would solve the case soon.