An Indian yoga teacher was arrested for allegedly killing his 28-year-old Israeli girlfriend in a fit of rage on April 15 and then hiding her body in a freezer, police said on Thursday.
The murder of Tamar Farha Abraham from Jerusalem came to light late on Wednesday when Lokesh Chandra Das, 30, went to the police station and confessed to have killed her in a fit of rage with a rod when Tamar was quarrelling with his wife Jyothi, a software professional in the city.
The couple, who have a three-month-old child, live in upscale Mantri Tranquil apartment on Kanakapura Road in south Bengaluru.
"As per his confession, Das met Tamar four years ago at Rishikesh in Uttarkhand. Since then, they have been meeting each other as she was interested in learning yoga. The friendship soon turned into a romantic relationship, leading to illicit affair between them. Tamar came to Bengaluru on March 15 after Das deserted her and tried to keep away from her, as he got married in the meantime to Jyothi," Ramnagara district police superintendent S.P. Bisnahalli revealed.
"When Tamar fell unconscious after she was hit by Das, the accused sent Jyothi and the child to her parents' house in the city and tried to dispose of the body. When he could not, he bought a huge ice container the following day (Apirl 16) for Rs.30,000 and kept the body in it since then to prevent its foul smell emanating from his yoga room," Bisnhalli pointed out.
Jyothi returned to the apartment May 3 and suspected something amiss. Due to prolonged power cuts, the decomposed body began to emit a foul smell from the container though Das kept the room locked.
When she confronted him about it, he confessed to have strangulated Tamar to ensure she was dead.
"Jyothi and her mother forced Das to surrender to the police and confess to the crime as there was no other way they could hide the foul-smelling body or dispose it of," Bisnahalli added.
"Das has been sent to central jail after he was remanded in 15-day judicial custody," Bisnahalli said.
Meanwhile, the decomposed body of the victim has been kept in cold storage at a state-run hospital in the city's southern suburb for inquest and post-mortem examination.
"We are waiting for the arrival of Tamar's parents or relatives to conduct inquest and post-mortem. We have alerted the Israeli embassy about the murder and asked its officials to convey the tragic news to her relatives at the address found in her passport," the officer said.