A handwritten note has been recovered from the belongings of the Bengaluru CEO who allegedly murdered her four-year-old son, police sources said. While police hasn’t reveal the exact content of the note, sources say that the accused, Suchana Seth, had written about her bitter relationship with her estranged husband.

The 39-year-old is accused of murdering her son in a hotel room in Goa, reportedly over a bitter custody battle with her husband. She will undergo a medical examination as well as a psychological evaluation. Police sources said that she has not been cooperating with the investigation and has shown “no remorse” so far.

The note recovered was written on a tissue paper with an eyeliner, police said. It has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination by a handwriting expert.

The note hinted at her strained relationship with her husband Venkat Raman and how she was unhappy with the court order allowing Raman to meet the child. Police sources said that the note suggests the mental state of Ms Seth.

Suchana Seth is the CEO of ‘The Mindful AI Lab’, and according to her LinkedIn profile, she is an AI ethics expert and data scientist with over 12 years of experience in mentoring data science teams, and scaling machine learning solutions at start-ups and industry research labs.

The police have recovered the three items from the service apartment she had stayed at in Goa. She checked into the apartment in Candolim on January 6 and stayed there till January 8. She allegedly killed her son in the apartment and stuffed the body in a bag before taking it to neighbouring Karnataka in a taxi on Monday, police said.

When the apartment staff went to clean the room, they found blood stains on a towel. The staff immediately informed the police and told them that she carried an unusually heavy bag, and her son was not seen with her.

The four-year-old child was smothered to death either with a piece of cloth or a pillow, the post-mortem revealed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today began 11-day rituals, including observing “strict vows and sacrifice”, to prepare for the Ram temple consecration ceremony on January 22. In a special message to the nation, he said he felt emotional and overwhelmed. 

“I am emotional. For the first time in my life, I am experiencing such feelings,” he said in a 10-minute audio message posted on X.

PM Modi said it was his good fortune to be able to witness the “Pran Pratishtha” ceremony. God, he said, had chosen him as an instrument to represent all Indians at what he described as a “historic and sacred moment”. To prepare for it, the Prime Minister said he would follow strict rules prescribed in scriptures and as guided by saints.

“As our scriptures say, for the yajna (sacrifice) of God, for worship, we must awaken the divine consciousness within ourselves. For this, the scriptures prescribe vows and strict rules that need to be followed before the consecration. Therefore, following the guidance I have received from saints on this spiritual journey… They have suggested the principles of conduct (yam-niyam), and I am starting a special observance of 11 days from today,” he said.

PM Modi referred to Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary today, calling it a “joyous coincidence”. He also cited the birth anniversary of Jijabai, the mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji, recalling his own mother too.

The Prime Minister urged Indians to reach out to him through his Namo app and sought their blessings.

“Even though I want to, I cannot capture the depth, vastness, and intensity of it in words. You can understand my state. The dream that many generations have cherished for years, I am fortunate to be present at its fulfilment. The Lord has made me a representative of all Indians. I am just an instrument. This is a huge responsibility,” said the Prime Minister.

“I seek blessing from people.”

The Prime Minister’s message comes in the middle of intense politics over the Ram Temple event, with the ruling BJP slamming opposition parties like the Congress for skipping the January 22 ceremony.

Sunil Kanugolu – the strategist credited with orchestrating the Congress’ wins in Karnataka and Telangana – will not be part of its campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Earlier part of the Congress’ ‘Task Force 2024’, he will now focus on its Haryana and Maharashtra campaigns, sources told NDTV Friday.

Mr Kanugolu is the second high-profile poll mastermind who will not be associated with the party’s general election prep, after Prashant Kishor, two years, ago, walked out of negotiations.

Mr Kanugolu’s redeployment has been attributed to the fact he already has teams in place in those two states – both of which vote this year – and to a Congress keen to build on last year’s victories in the Karnataka and Telangana, recording big wins over the ruling BJP and BRS, respectively. 

However, news the Congress’ key poll tactician will not be on hand to guide the party in the April/May national election has raised eyebrows. A senior leader, holding the rank of General Secretary, acknowledged his absence on the Lok Sabha campaign is a “slight setback”, but told NDTV the Congress believes there is greater long-term benefit if he can use his ‘Midas touch’, to win key states from the BJP.

Mr Kanugolu, sources added, will also continue to work with the Congress’ governments in Karnataka, where he his now Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s primary advisor, with a cabinet rank, and Telangana, where he ousted ex-Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and the BRS that has ruled since 2014.

READ | Congress’ Poll Planner Now Chief Advisor To Karnataka Chief Minister

The importance of Mr Kanugolu to the Congress’ election machinery is perhaps best illustrated by the party’s dismal performances in last year’s Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan elections.

READ | Sunil Kanugolu, Data-Driven Strategist Behind Congress’ Karnataka Win

Mr Kanugolu held initial talks with leaders in those states, but neither Kamal Nath nor Ashok Gehlot, the party’s oldest and de facto bosses in each, agreed to his demands.

READ | Congress’ Telangana Strategist Snubbed In Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh

The Congress lost badly in each state. Sources later told NDTV the wins in Karnataka and Telangana were the result of Mr Kanugolu being given a free hand in each.

The math behind the Congress’ Lok Sabha election campaign is much more complicated, particularly with the party juggling multiple allies, and seat-sharing demands, as part of the INDIA opposition bloc.

READ | INDIA Bloc Seat Sharing Talks In Progress For Maharashtra, UP Next

In that context, Mr Kanugolu, hailed as a “man of ideas, with a handle on the big picture”, would have been a valuable asset, particularly since he has experience with INDIA allies, having worked with the DMK for the 2019 general election and winning Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s party 38 of the state’s 39 Lok Sabha seats. He has also worked with the BJP; he was part of its 2014 campaign.

For Congress, No Kanugolu, No Kishor

Mr Kanugolu is the second big poll strategist to step back from the Congress’ national poll plans, after master tactician Prashant Kishor confirmed, in 2022, he would not work with the party.

READ | 5 Reasons Why Prashant Kishor’s Talks With Congress Fell Through

Prashant Kishor, who worked with the BJP’s winning campaigns and then turned around to guide Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to a statement win over his former employers, wanted wholesale reforms within the party, something with which it was not comfortable. 

Congress Has Long-Term Plan?

The Congress, though, is likely thinking (very) long-term. Wins in Karnataka and Telangana (and Himachal Pradesh, another state where Mr Kanugolu aided the party) must be balanced against major losses, such as those in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh this year, and Punjab in 2022. 

The Congress was the ruling party in three of these four states before disjointed campaigns gave the BJP and the AAP (which picked up Punjab) wins they should not have had. The party now has governments (of its own) in just three states compared to the BJP’s 12. It is likely it is banking on Mr Kanugolu, and his field surveys, to win over and strengthen its position in key states as it looks to build a strong base.

Haryana, where the BJP is not in a strong position despite holding the chief minister’s post, and Maharashtra, a state in turmoil since last year’s split in the Shiv Sena, which dumped the Congress out of power (it was part of the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi government), seem good places to start.

Andhra Pradesh, which is also scheduled to vote this year, will likely be passed over by Mr Kanugolu given the Congress doesn’t really have a presence there, despite the recent entrance of YS Sharmila. 

Among the other states heading for Assembly elections in 2024 are Odisha, where Chief Minister Naveen Patna’s BJD has a stranglehold, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. Jharkhand will also vote but the Congress is already part of the government there, having allied with Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s JMM.

The big test will be Jammu and Kashmir, which, if the Supreme Court’s order is followed, will hold a first election since the controversial scrapping of special status under Article 370. The last Assembly poll in J&K was in 2014.

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