Techie from Mangaluru murdered in Bengaluru by 18-year-old Kerala youth after refusing sexual advances

Techie from Mangaluru murdered in Bengaluru by 18-year-old Kerala youth after refusing sexual advances

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, January 12, 2026: Bangalore police have arrested an 18-year-old youth for killing 35-year-old Tekki Sharmila, a resident of Kavuoor, Mangalore, after she refused to engage in sexual activity with him. Initially, it was suspected that Sharmila had died in a fire accident at her Bangalore flat last week.

Sharmila was unmarried and lived in a two-bedroom flat at Sankalpa Nilaya in Subrahmanya Layout. She worked at a major tech company in Bangalore. On the night of January 3, between 10:15 PM and 10:45 PM, a fire broke out in her flat. Firefighters rushed to the scene, extinguished the flames, and discovered Sharmila’s charred body.

Sharmila’s roommate had been at her family home in Assam since November 14, 2025. Since the fire started in the bedroom where the roommate usually stayed, police initially suspected a short circuit as the cause. However, one of Sharmila’s friends expressed doubts that the incident was intentional. Based on this, Ramamurthy Nagar police registered a case of unnatural death.

During the investigation, police discovered that an 18-year-old Kerala native named Karnal Kurai, a neighbor of Sharmila, had entered her flat through a window around 9 PM. He asked Sharmila to engage in sexual activity. When she refused, he allegedly held her mouth and nose tightly, rendering her semi-conscious. A struggle occurred, during which Sharmila sustained injuries and started bleeding, according to police.

Later, Kurai went to the empty bedroom, set fire to Sharmila’s clothes and other evidence, and stole her mobile phone before fleeing. Kurai, a pre-university student living with his mother, was arrested at his home and taken into custody for three days. Further investigation is ongoing, a police official said.

A case has been registered against him under the Indian Penal Code: Section 302(1) (punishment for murder), Section 376(2) (punishment for rape), and Section 201 (destruction of evidence or providing false information to protect the offender).