CEO-mom tried to kill self after smothering child to death: Police

The chief executive officer of an artificial intelligence start-up allegedly killed her four-year-old son at a service apartment in Goa and stuffed his body in a bag before taking it to neighbouring Karnataka in a taxi, the police said on Tuesday.

Soon after the gruesome crime that took place between January 6 and 8, the accused woman, Suchana Seth, also tried to end her life by cutting her wrist with a sharp object, they said, adding that the motive behind the murder was not immediately known.

Seth was arrested from Chitradurga in Karnataka on Monday night and brought to Goa on Tuesday. A court in Mapusa town remanded her in police custody for six days, an official said.

The accused has told the police that she and her husband were estranged and their divorce proceedings were currently underway, he said.

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 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 expensive," 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 in the 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 the 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.

A senior police official said the entrepreneur smothered her son to death and then tried to commit suicide by cutting her left wrist with a sharp object.

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

Soon after the news about Seth being found with the child's body at Chitradurga was confirmed by the Calangute police in Goa, a team of forensic experts conducted an inspection of the service apartment on Monday, he said.

"The team arrived immediately at night (on Monday) and on Tuesday again," he added.

An offence was registered against Seth under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence), and also under the Goa Children's Act at the Calangute police station, he said.

"Seth was brought to Goa around 1 pm on Tuesday and presented before a court in Mapusa town, which remanded her in police custody for six days," another police official said.

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

Superintendent of Police (North Goa) Nidhin Valsan said, "A team of Goa police, which is investigating the case, visited Chitradurga district in Karnataka and formally placed the accused under arrest."

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

The accused woman hails from West Bengal and has been living in Bengaluru, while her husband is from Kerala. He is currently in Jakarta (Indonesia) and he has been informed about the incident, Valsan said.

A Calangute police team led by Inspector Paresh Naik is currently in Chitradurga and waiting for post-mortem on the child's body.

Meanwhile, the building that houses several service apartments at Candolim where the crime occurred, 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.