Suchana Seth Case: CEO Mom Denies Killing Son, Cops Suspect Kid Was Given Heavy Cough Syrup Dose | New Details

More details have emerged in the sensational murder case of a four-year-old boy who was allegedly killed by his mother, a start-up CEO from Bengaluru, at a resort-apartment in Goa on Monday. 

Suchana Seth, co-founder of artificial intelligence start-up Mindful AI Lab, was caught in Karnataka's Chitradurga district on Monday night when she was travelling in a taxi, carrying her son's body in a luggage bag. 

While Suchana Seth has denied killing her son, the post-mortem report of the child suggests that he was smothered to death by a pillow or a cloth, after which, police said, the start-up CEO even attempted suicide. Police have also recovered bottles of cough syrup from the Goa apartment where Suchana was staying.

Suchana Seth also reportedly filed domestic violence charges against PR Venkat Raman, her estranged husband and the child's father, in August last year.  

Suchana Seth Case | What We Know So Far

-Suchana Tells Cops Child Was Dead When She Woke Up: According to police sources, Suchana Seth, accused of killing her four-year-old son at an apartment in Goa, has denied her involvement in the crime during the interrogation and claimed the child was already dead when she got up from sleep.

Police, however, said they "don't buy her theory."

"Further investigation will reveal the motive behind killing the child.  As of now, we know that she and her husband were estranged because of which she might have done this," news agency PTI quoted a senior police official as saying.

Empty Cough Syrup Bottles Found In Goa Room: In a major finding in the case, the Goa Police said two empty bottles of cough syrup were recovered from the room where the Bengaluru start-up CEO Suchana Seth allegedly killed her four-year-old son.

The recovery of the cough syrup bottles indicates Suchana Seth might have given a heavy dose of the medicine to the child, police said, adding that it seems it was "pre-planned murder."

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"We are examining the possibility if the woman gave a heavy dose of cough syrup to the child before putting him to death," an official said. Enquiries with the service apartment staff revealed the woman had asked them to buy a small bottle of cough syrup claiming she was having a cough, the official said, adding that the bigger bottle might have been carried by her.

Post-mortem Report Of Child: The post-mortem report of the four-year-old who was allegedly killed by his mother at a service apartment in Goa suggests that the kid was smothered to death by a cloth or a pillow.  

"He [the child] was strangled to death or what we call smothering. Either a cloth or a pillow was used. The child died due to strangulation. It doesn't look like the child was strangulated using hands. It looks like a pillow or some other material was used. The Rigor mortis had resolved in the child," news agency PTI quoted Hiriyur Taluk Hospital's administrative officer Dr Kumar Naik as saying.  

"Usually in India, rigor mortis resolves after 36 hours but in this child's case, there was no Rigor mortis.  So, it has been more than 36 hours since his death," Dr Naik said, adding that there was no blood loss or struggle marks on the body. 
"We cannot say the exact time but it has been 36 hours since his death," Naik said.  

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-Suchana Seth Attempted Suicide After Killing Son: According to police, as per the initial investigations, Suchana Seth attempted suicide by slashing her wrist after smothering her son to death.

The chief executive officer of an artificial intelligence start-up tried to end her life after committing the gruesome crime, police said on Tuesday, citing initial investigations.

"The blood stains that were found on a towel in the service apartment were due to the slashing of her wrist," a police officer said.

-Suchana Seth Filed Accused Husband Of Violence: Suchana Seth is learnt to have filed domestic violence charges against PR Venkat Raman, her estranged husband and the child's father, in August last year, according to court documents cited in an NDTV report.

The father had denied the allegations made during the couple's divorce proceedings in court, the report said, adding that the court was scheduled to hear the matter next on January 29.

Estranged Husband of Suchana Seth Returns To India: Father of the four-year-old boy returned to India from Jakarta on Tuesday evening on learning about his child's murder, police said.

The man, Venkat Raman, arrived at Chitradurga in Karnataka, and gave his consent to the local authorities to conduct a post-mortem on his son's body, they said. 

The last rites of the four-year-old boy were performed at Harishchandra Ghat in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

According to Goa police, Suchana Seth told them that she and her husband were estranged and their divorce proceedings were in the final stage. 

A senior police official said, "Raman, who was in Jakarta [Indonesia], was contacted by the police and told about the incident. After that, he returned to India. On his arrival in Chitradurga in the evening, he gave his consent for a post-mortem on his child's body." 

Police said that Suchana Seth hails from West Bengal and had been living in Bengaluru, while her husband is from Kerala. 

Suchana Seth Remanded In Police Custody: Suchana Seth, who was arrested by the Goa Police from Chitradurga in Karnataka on Monday night, was brought to Goa on Tuesday.

She was remanded to police custody for six days by a court in Mapusa town.

-What Police Told On Motive Behind Crime: While some reports said Suchana Seth murdered her son to stop her estranged husband from meeting him, police said the motive behind the murder would be established only after her interrogation.

The accused is yet to be interrogated but she told the investigators that she and her husband were estranged and that their divorce proceedings were underway.

"What she has told us so far is that she and her husband were estranged and that they are currently undergoing divorce proceedings," a police officer said. 

-Goa Apartment Where Suchana Stayed Shut For Visitors: North Goa's 'Sol Banyan Grande', where Suchana Seth stayed and allegedly killed her son, has been shut for visitors.

The complex that houses several service apartments at Candolim in North Goa on Tuesday prohibited outsiders from entering the premises.  The owner of this building 'Sol Banyan Grande' has instructed the security guards not to allow anyone, especially media persons, inside, eyewitnesses said.

Other guests, who are currently staying in the premises, continue to spend their vacations at the property, they said. Sol Banyan Grande is a resort-style apartment development in North Goa's Candolim.

-AI Firm Run By Suchana Seth Turns Out To Be Co-working Space: An Indian Express report mentioned that investigators paid a visit to the address listed for Suchana Seth's company, The Mindful AI Lab, and found out that it was operating from a co-working space instead of a dedicated office. 

Police also found that Suchana Seth is the director of another firm which works in the field of machine intelligence. This firm was registered in September 2020 and continues to be active. 

“Goa police also visited the office of this firm and collected some information,” the report quoted a Bengaluru police official as saying.

How Suchana Seth Was Caught

Suchana Seth gave a Bengaluru address while checking into room 404 at Candolim’s Hotel Sol Banyan Grande on Saturday, reports quoted inspector Paresh Naik of Calangute police as saying.

The crime was uncovered after a member of the housekeeping staff found a bloodstain while cleaning the apartment after Suchana Seth checked out on Monday morning.

North Goa SP Nidhin Valsan said that on being informed about the bloodstain around 11 am on Monday, a police team reached the hotel and scanned the CCTV footage, in which Suchana could be seen leaving the service apartment without her son.

Inspector Naik said he called the taxi driver and asked him to give the phone to Suchana. On being asked about her son, Suchana said she left him at a friend’s house in Fatorda. Suchana was then asked to give the friend’s address, which turned out to be fake. "The accused told us that the blood stains were due to her monthly periods. She also told us that her son was with her friend in Margao town [in South Goa] and provided the address," the official said.

Naik then called the taxi driver again and asked him to go to a nearby police station without Suchana Seth suspecting anything. By this time the taxi had entered Chitradurga district.

The driver then reportedly went to the Aimangala police station where police checked the car and found the body of the child in a luggage bag with Suchana Seth.

Suchana was detained at Aimangala police station in Karnataka's Chitradurga district on Monday night. A police team from Calangute left for Karnataka late on Monday to take custody of Suchana and bring her to Goa on transit remand. She is now in six-day police custody in Goa.