Start-up CEO kills her son in Goa, travels with body; held in Karnataka
Panaji (PTI): A 39-year-old chief executive officer of a start-up company allegedly killed her four-year-old son in Goa and then travelled with the body to neighbouring Karnataka, a police official said on Tuesday.
The Goa police arrested the accused, Suchana Seth, from Chitradurga in Karnataka on Sunday night, he said, adding the motive behind the killing was not yet known.
According to Seth's LinkedIn page, she is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of start-up Mindful AI Lab and was among the top '100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics for 2021'.
She checked into a rented service apartment at Candolim in North Goa on January 6 along with her son, Calangute police station inspector Paresh Naik said.
After staying there for two days, she informed the apartment staff that she wanted to go to Bengaluru for some work and asked them to arrange for a taxi, he said.
"The staff suggested that she could take a flight to Bengaluru which would be a cheaper option rather than hiring a taxi which is an expensive proposition," he said.
The accused insisted that she would travel by taxi only, and accordingly a vehicle was arranged on January 8 in which she left early morning.
Later, when the apartment staff went to clean the room in which she stayed, they found blood stains on a towel, Naik said.
"The management of the apartment immediately informed the Calangute police, who then reached the spot," he said.
The staff also informed that the woman's four-year-old son was not seen with her when she left the apartment and she was also carrying an unusually heavy bag, he said.
The police then called the accused and enquired with her about the blood stains and her "missing" son.
"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 said he immediately took the help of Fatorda police (near Margao) and got to know the address given by her was fake.
The inspector later spoke over phone to the taxi driver, who was on way to Bengaluru and had reached Chitradurga district in Karnataka, to take the accused to the nearest police station.
The police in Chitradurga checked the woman's bag in which they found the body of the child, Naik said.
A team of the Calangute police then rushed to Chitradurga and obtained a transit remand of the accused, who was being brought to Goa.
The postmortem of the body would be conducted in Chitradurga, Naik said.
Police have informed about the incident to the accused's husband, Venkat Raman, who is currently in Jakarta, he said.
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New trains to ease crowding on Namma Metro Purple-Green lines in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Commuters on the crowded Namma Metro Purple and Green lines may soon get relief, as the Railway Board has issued provisional sanction for induction of new train sets, Deccan Herald reported.
The Railway Board communicated the provisional sanction to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) in a letter on April 1, raising hopes that additional trains could be deployed during peak hours by May-June.
According to the Railway Board, the approval comes with conditions, including a maximum speed of 80 kmph in fully inflated mode and 25 kmph in deflated mode of the secondary air spring.
The BMRCL will also need a separate sanction from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) by submitting the Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) report confirming the trains’ integration, operation, and compatibility with the Direct To Go (DTG) signalling and train control system for the Purple and Green lines.
The BMRCL has received three DTG trains, including a prototype delivered in January 2025, for the Purple and Green lines. The trains must pass 37 statutory clearances before entering passenger service.
The BMRCL had approached the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), under the Ministry of Railways, to conduct statutory trials related to oscillation, braking, speed and system integration tests for the trains. The CMRS will issue the final sanction after receiving the ISA certificate.
Officials said the ISA certification process is already underway, with new signalling software currently being tested. Final approvals are expected by May-June, after which the trains can be introduced into service.
The new trains have been supplied by China's CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd, which will deliver a total of 21 trains for the Purple and Green lines in partnership with the West Bengal-based Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd (TRSL). Currently, the network operates with 57 trains supplied by BEML.
