Divya laid to rest; family shell shocked

S Leela, the eldest sister of Divya is yet to know of her murder. She is pregnant and expected to deliver in Katpadi, Udupi district.It was Divya who had dropped Leela at their mother's place only two months back.

Divya was the youngest of four daughters of P Shyam. After his two elder daughters' marriage, Shyam was staying in NS Palya near BTM Layout with his two younger daughters. The girl's mother went back to Katpadi a few months ago.

Police suspect that Divya was killed by her boyfriend, Ranjit, from whom she had split a few months ago. Kiran, a cousin of Divya, told the media that Divya and Ranjit were classmates at VET College in JP Nagar where they studied BCom.

"We don't have any idea about the alleged affair between my sister and Ranjit. Please leave us alone," he said.

Divya, who worked as a logistics co-ordinator at AstroMueller Pvt Ltd, a shoe company, was returning home from work when she was attacked. She had alighted from a BMTC bus and was walking towards her house when a bike blocked her path. The pillion rider got down from the bike and hit her on her neck with a machete. The duo sped away from the spot, while Divya succumbed to her injuries later in the night.

Divya's family is known as the Benaka family as her father ran Benaka Refreshments which was a landmark of sorts on Bannerghatta Road in 1980s and later.

"Those days he made good money from hotel business. His four daughters studied at an Udupi school," a family member said. Shyam shifted his family to the city in late 2000. Owing to his deteriorating health condition, Shyam sold the hotel and began running a part-time catering business in Bangalore.

Shyam told police that Divya had called him around 5.30pm, an hour before she was attacked. ''I work in an ice cream parlor at Gandhi Bazaar. Divya called me in the evening asking me what vegetables she should take home. She did the same on Monday too. Similarly, I used to take ice creams to my daughters once in a while," he said. "Like any father, Shyam dreamt of giving a secure life to his daughters," family sources said.