BS Yediyurappa's Granddaughter Found Dead, Was Battling Postpartum Depression

Bengaluru's High Grounds Police Station has registered a case of 'unnatural death' and initiated an investigation.

Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa's granddaughter was found dead inside her private apartment at Bengaluru's Vasanth Nagar on Friday, 28 January.

(Photos accessed by The Quint)

(If you feel suicidal or know someone in distress, please reach out to local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs on these numbers. If you know someone or are personally dealing with postpartum mental health issues, know that you or they are not alone. Reach out to the NIMHANS Perinatal Mental Health Helpline - 8105711277.)

Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa's granddaughter was found dead inside her private apartment at Bengaluru's Vasanth Nagar on Friday, 28 January.

Bengaluru's High Grounds Police Station has registered a case of 'unnatural death' and has initiated an investigation.

According to news agency ANI, Dr Satish, HOD of the forensic department in Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, said, "We have conducted the post-mortem examination, and we will hand over the report."

The deceased, 30-year-old Soundarya Neeraj, was a practising doctor. Her husband, Dr Neeraj, is a radiologist at the MS Ramaiah Hospital, and they had a nine-month-old baby.

Speaking to The Quint, Karnataka Home Minister Araga Janendra said that Soundraya was suffering from postpartum depression. According to him, she and her husband had been staying at Yediyurappa's house since her delivery and had returned to their apartment on Thursday.

She was undergoing treatment for her depression, he added.

Meanwhile, Yediyurappa's office also confirmed that Soundarya was suffering from postpartum depression.

Karnataka Law Minister KC Madhuswamy visited the hospital later on Friday.

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According to the police, Soundarya's husband left home at 8.30 am. At 9.30 am, a member of their domestic staff knocked on the door of her bedroom, but there was no answer.

The baby was in another room with the nanny. The staffer and the nanny, as per the police, assumed that she was asleep. They knocked on her door again at 9.45 am.

Later, they peeped through the window of the bedroom, and based on what they saw, they informed her husband at 10.30 am.

He rushed home and took her to a nearby hospital. She was later taken to Bowring Hospital, but was declared brought dead at 12 noon.

While the set time for the funeral was at 6.30 pm, it is still underway at Abbigere.

Prima facie evidence suggests that Soundarya's death is a case of suicide, as per the police. It was earlier reported that her husband was the first one to find her.

"She had visited Yediyurappa very recently, two days ago. He too is shocked by what has happened," a close aide of the former Karnataka chief minister told The Quint.

The former chief minister is yet to issue a formal statement on the matter.

Meanwhile, as per his office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had called up Yediyurappa to express their condolences.

(With inputs from senior journalist Naheed Ataulla.)