Panaji: In a harrowing incident, a 39-year-old CEO of a startup company stands accused of the tragic murder of her four-year-old son in Goa. Suchana Seth, the CEO of Mindful AI Lab and recognized among the top '100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics for 2021', was apprehended by Goa police in Chitradurga, Karnataka, on Sunday night.
The distressing episode unfolded when Seth checked into a rented service apartment at Candolim in North Goa on January 6, accompanied by her son. Two days into their stay, she purportedly expressed a desire to travel to Bengaluru for work and requested a taxi from the apartment staff. Despite suggestions of a cheaper flight option, she insisted on a taxi, departing early morning on January 8.
Trouble arose when apartment staff, upon cleaning Seth's room, discovered bloodstains on a towel. Alerting the authorities, they also noticed her departure without her son but with an unusually heavy bag.
Upon questioning by the police, Seth explained the bloodstains away as menstrual, claiming her son was with a friend in Margao town. This led to a pursuit that uncovered the address to be fictitious.
Through swift coordination with authorities in Chitradurga, Karnataka, the police intercepted the taxi en route to Bengaluru. A search of Seth's bag yielded the heartbreaking discovery of her son's lifeless body. Subsequently, she was taken into custody and a transit remand was obtained to bring her back to Goa.
Authorities are preparing for a postmortem in Chitradurga while also reaching out to inform Seth's husband, Venkat Raman, who is presently in Jakarta, about this tragic incident.
—Input from Agencies