Senior citizens' murder remains a mystery

It is almost a month since four senior citizens were murdered in the City in quick succession. Police have not been able to nab the culprits involved in these cases. Initially, the Dandupalya Krishna gang was suspected, but now police rule out that possibility, writes K.V.SUBRAMANYA.

THOUGH ALMOST a month has passed, police have not been able to achieve any decisive breakthrough in the investigation of the murders of four senior citizens in the City during October and in the first week of November.

The Home Minister, Mr. M.Mallikarjuna Kharge, himself had announced in the Legislative Council that four special police teams had been formed to probe these murders, which took place in quick succession.

Police have ruled out the involvement of the Dandupalya Krishna gang, but they have not been able to obtain clues regarding the culprits. They are still interrogating suspects.

The Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Mr. B.N.Nagaraj, said that these murders were not ``serial killings'' as the modus operandi followed by the culprits in the four cases were different. However, police were probing the cases from various angles, he added.

Though police said that they had some clues regarding the murder of Manjula in Basavanagudi police station limits and had zeroed in on a person, they have not yet gathered evidence to prove the suspect's involvement in the case.

Police said that a person had visited Manjula's house after her husband went out for his morning walk. Probably, the suspect would have come there to commit theft and later, attacked her. As her throat was slit, the victim could not speak, but was able to convey before she died that only one person had attacked her. Subsequently, police visited the suspect's house and recovered a blood-stained shirt from there.

Forensic experts were examining whether Manjula's blood matched with the blood stains on the shirt recovered from the suspect's house, a senior officer said. But already a police team had been sent to Belgaum to nab the suspect.

Regarding the murder of Nagarathnamma, a widow, police suspect that her relatives were behind it to obtain her property. Nagarathnamma had been residing along with her daughter-in-law, also a widow, at Chamarajpet. Though her relatives had been questioned, nothing concrete had been established, police said.

While police have reasons to suspect a few persons in these two murders, they are clueless about the culprits involved in the murder of Ramakrishna, an automobile trader, who was hacked to death at his house in Ulsoor police station limits and Siddappa, a retired Assistant Commissioner, who was found murdered at his house in Mico Layout police station limits.

In the latter case, police initially suspected a close relative. However, it has now been established that the suspect was not involved in the crime.

Ramakrishnaiah's murder has baffled the police as all the angles of investigation pursued by them have not yielded results.

Mr. Nagaraj said that in some cases it takes time to nab the accused even if sincere efforts were made by the police. The delay in solving these cases could not be construed as a failure of the police, he added.

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