Umar Dutt, Who Stabbed, Ran Over Indian American Dr. Achutha Reddy, Sentenced to Life in Prison
A memorial page had been set up on Facebook to pay homage to the late psychiatrist Achutha Reddy (top, 2nd from right, in photo with family). (Facebook memorial page photo)
WICHITA, Kan. — A 26-year-old man was sentenced Nov. 9 to life in prison for stabbing a Wichita Indian American psychiatrist more than 160 times and running him over with a car four years ago.
Umar Dutt pleaded guilty in September to first-degree murder in the Sept. 13, 2017 death of Dr. Achutha Reddy. Prosecutors said Dutt was a client of Reddy’s.
Police found Reddy’s body in an alley behind Holistic Psychiatric Services and arrested Dutt after a security guard at the Wichita Country Club reported a suspicious person with blood on him sitting in a vehicle in the parking lot, KAKE-TV reported.
Police said an office manager heard a disturbance in Reddy’s office and found Dutt assaulting the doctor.
When the officer manager tried to stop the assault, Reddy fled. But Dutt caught up with him and stabbed him before running over him with a car, police said.
India-West adds: Investigators had said Dutt was a client of Reddy’s and that Reddy had been stabbed about 165 times. The doctor also appeared to have suffered blunt force trauma and may have been run over by a vehicle.
Dutt was found covered in blood sitting in a vehicle in the parking lot of the Wichita Country Club after the attack, police said.
Lt. Todd Ojile, section commander of the homicide division at the Wichita Police Department, told India-West shortly after the attack that no motive had been established for Dutt’s slaying of Reddy. (See earlier story: https://bit.ly/2FKQGMw)
Dutt had been a patient of Reddy’s, who was a specialist in absolute yoga, a type of yoga that connects mind, body and breath and promotes a healthy lifestyle.
Dutt was tracked down to a local country club by police, after a call from a security guard who told 911 a young man was sitting outside the club in his car with blood all over his clothes. Local news reports said Dutt had attempted to buy a gun several days before the stabbing.