Conspiracy, murder, and quick detection

By S.Rajendran

BANGALORE, OCT. 8. The Tiptur Rural Police in Tumkur District have solved an interesting case of murder for gain, where the culprits freely used mobile telephones to keep in touch with their associates.

Mr. D.Palakshaiah, Circle Inspector, Tiptur Rural Police Station, who is in Bangalore in connection with the investigation of the case, told The Hindu here today that the three arrested -- Mahesh, Shivakumar and Venkatappa -- had hatched the plot in Bangalore when their friendship was only a few days old.

While the latter two were car drivers in Bangalore, the first was a car driver from Shimoga. The three met at the car parking lot of a leading private hospital here when they were at the hospital to attend to the requirements of a patient.

Mahesh, the driver of a car owned by a wealthy businessman dealing in hardware and foodgrains in Shimoga, reportedly told Shivakumar and Venkatappa that they could easily rob the businessman of a large sum of money since the latter was used to carrying huge cash regularly. Accordingly, when Mahesh and Naresh Shanbhag (accounts assistant) of the businessman, Mr. Jayakumar, were travelling from Hassan to Shimoga with a sum of Rs. 10 lakh, Shivakumar and Venkatappa, who were in another car, intercepted them and abducted Naresh Shanbhag. When he resisted their attempt to snatch the money, he was reportedly given an injection and put to sleep. He was later brutally murdered and his body was dumped in a forest near Tiptur.

Police said Mahesh also left the car behind, and travelled to Bangalore with Shivakumar and Venkatappa. They shared the loot and indulged in extravagant spending. They bought a car, mobile telephones, a television set and a refrigerator. They also invested Rs. 1 lakh in a private finance company. Meanwhile, acting on a tip-off provided by a forest guard , the Tiptur Rural police registered a case of murder on September 14 and started the investigation.

Mr. Palakshaiah on a visit to the house of Mahesh at Shimoga found a small diary which contained a few telephone numbers. One of the numbers was traced to Sujatha who was employed as a domestic help in a house in Mangalore. The Tiptur police rushed to Mangalore and located Sujatha who confirmed her friendship with Mahesh. However, the culprit who regularly called up the girl, dodged the police successfully by using a mobile phone (magic card) which could not be traced. Further, he also used STD booths to call up his friend.

The police, scrutinised all the numbers of outgoing and incoming calls made from and to the mobile phone in the possession of Mahesh. Of the 500 calls made from various places in about a week, only one could be traced, which was of a private grocery store at Kumaraswamy Layout in Bangalore. On interrogation the shop owner told the police about the location of the person who had made the calls from his place, and in the next few hours, the police arrested all the three accused.

Mr. Palakshaiah said all three were first-time offenders, and it was the lure of money that made them commit the murder. Being novices, they had indulged in a variety of methods to escape from law.

Mr. R.Hitendra, Superintendent of Police, Tumkur District, has appreciated the work of the Tiptur rural police, and cash rewards have been announced for the investigating team.

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