Bengaluru techie believed dead in fire was murdered by teen for refusing sexual advances

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, January 12, 2026: Police have arrested an 18-year-old youth for allegedly murdering a 34-year-old software engineer after she rejected his sexual advances. The victim was initially believed to have died in a fire accident at her flat in east Bengaluru.

The deceased, Sharmila D K, was found dead after a fire broke out at her apartment in Subramanya Layout last weekend. However, investigators later established that the blaze was an act of arson. Further probe led police to arrest Karnal Kurai, a PUC student and Sharmila’s neighbour. Kurai is a native of Virajpet in Kodagu district.

Sharmila, who hailed from Dakshina Kannada and was unmarried, lived alone in a two-bedroom flat at Sankalpa Nilaya and worked with a leading technology firm in Bengaluru.

A fire was reported at the flat between 10.15 pm and 10.45 pm on January 3. Firefighters who rushed to the spot extinguished the flames and found Sharmila’s charred body inside.

Initially, police suspected a short circuit, as the fire had originated in the bedroom used by her roommate, who had been in her hometown in Assam since November 14, 2025. However, suspicion was raised by one of Sharmila’s friends, prompting the Ramamurthy Nagar police to register a case of unnatural death.

A detailed examination by Scene of Crime Officers and forensic experts found no evidence of an electrical fault. “The evidence clearly indicated arson. The post-mortem report revealed that the woman died due to suffocation. This, along with technical evidence, led us to the accused,” said a police officer involved in the investigation.

According to police, Kurai allegedly entered Sharmila’s flat through a sliding window around 9 pm and demanded that she “cooperate sexually.” When she resisted, he allegedly restrained her by covering her mouth and nose, causing her to lose consciousness. During the struggle, she sustained bleeding injuries.

Police said the accused then went to the vacant bedroom, gathered Sharmila’s clothes and other incriminating material, and set them on fire to destroy evidence before fleeing with her mobile phone.

Kurai, aged 18 years and three months, lives with his single mother in Bengaluru. He was arrested from his residence on January 10 and has been remanded to three days of police custody. Further investigation is ongoing.

He has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 103(1) (punishment for murder), 64(2) (punishment for rape), 66 (causing death or resulting in a persistent vegetative state of the victim), and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence or giving false information to screen an offender).