BENGALURU: AMID BJP leaders’ protest and allegations that the party worker Santhosh was murdered over political rivalry, the police investigating the case said that, prima facie, personal enmity had led to the murder. It is said that Santhosh objecting to the accused persons smoking ganja near his house has led to the murder.
Santhosh, 28, a resident of Chinnappa Garden in JC Nagar, was stabbed to death by four persons near his house on Wednesday evening. Soon after the murder, the police had arrested two accused - Wasim and Philips. Two others who were absconding — Irfan and Umar — were arrested on Thursday. Santhosh was working as a fabricator in a glass cutting unit. Among the accused, Wasim, who worked as a supervisor at a private firm, is the son of Khadar Sharif, a block-level leader of the Congress party.
Police said that Santhosh, who returned home from work in the evening, had gone to Bake Point bakery, which is just a stone’s throw away from his house. He was accompanied by his friends, Rajesh and Ashok. The four accused were also there at the bakery. Around 6.30pm, they picked a fight with Santhosh and Wasim allegedly stabbed him in his right thigh with a screwdriver. The accused immediately fled the scene and Rajesh and Ashok rushed the profusely bleeding Santhosh to a nearby hospital.
“As the bleeding was heavy, Santhosh was referred to a hospital with better facilities. Accordingly, he was taken to a private hospital in Vasanthnagar, where he died due to excess bleeding around 9pm. Even before he succumbed, we had picked Wasim and Philips up from their houses upon receiving information about the incident from the local residents,” a police source said.
When the prime accused Wasim was grilled, he confessed to the murder. A source said, “He said that he knew Santhosh since childhood as they lived in the same area — Santhosh was a resident of 3rd Cross in Chinnappa Garden while Wasim lives on 1st Cross. He revealed that as there was personal enmity with Santhosh he attacked him, to hurt him but had no intention to murder him.”
DCP (North) Chetan Singh Rathor told reporters that Santhosh and Wasim had been at loggerheads from the last 3-4 months. “Santhosh had scolded Wasim and his aides for indulging in substance abuse near his house three months ago. Also, 3-4 days ago Wasim had fought with Santhosh and his brother over an issue. It appears, prima facie, that personal rivalry has led to the incident.”
On Friday, city Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar referred the case to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) for further probe. A murder case is registered in the JC Nagar police station in connection with the incident.
Santhosh married 8 months ago
Santhosh had married Chaitra just eight months ago. Ramesh, Chaitra’s elder brother, said that Chaitra was two months pregnant. “We are shocked by the incident. Santhosh had celebrated his birthday just on Tuesday. He was to become a father in a few months. All our dreams are destroyed now,” said Ramesh. Santhosh had been associating with BJP from the last six months and was in the team that organised a kabaddi tournament in Chinnappa Garden recently.
Eye witness account
‘The murder was not over political differences’
Santhosh’s murder may not be a political one as is being attempted to be made out. Not only did Santhosh know Wasim well, although they were at loggerheads, one of Wasim’s friends, also an accused in the case, was there when the attack took place and helped in taking Santhosh to the hospital along with the deceased’s friends, Ashok and Rajesh. Narrating the incident, Santhosh’s friend Ashok, who witnessed the incident and also the complainant in the case, said, “I was with Santhosh and another friend Rajesh when the incident took place. We were together from around 5.30 pm. When we went to a bakery, Wasim, Umar, Philips and Irfan were also there. They were abusing drugs and we objected to it. Soon there was an argument between us. Wasim attacked Santhosh from behind and stabbed him in the thigh and he bled profusely. Rajesh and I rushed him to hospital. We all knew each other, including the accused persons, and Umar was also there with us when we shifted Santhosh to hospital.” He added that the incident was not over any political differences. “There was a running feud between Santhosh and Wasim and his associates for the last couple of days.”