BENGALURU: In a classic case of mistaken identity, a 25-year-old youth was detained by the police for allegedly killing his friend. However, CCTV footage came to his rescue as probe later revealed that four people, including a minor, had killed the victim after he refused to buy a matchbox.
The incident took place in Vinayaka Nagar of Bashettahalli village in Doddaballapura Rural police station limits.
The police said the deceased, Sumantha Jamindar (23), and his friend, Nikhil (25), both natives of Odisha, worked at a factory. They were partying at Nikhil’s house on New Year’s Eve and later stepped out for a walk around 12.30 am on January 1.
During this time, four persons on the road asked them for a matchbox. When they replied that they did not have one, the accused allegedly asked Jamindar to bring a matchbox for them. An argument broke out, during which the accused allegedly assaulted them. They dragged Jamindar to a nearby house, and pushed him from the second floor, leading to his death. Meanwhile, Nikhil fled the scene, and the accused also escaped.
The police said residents alerted them in the morning about a body lying near the house, following which they learnt that it was a case of murder. During the investigation, the police collected details of the victim and found that Jamindar and Nikhil had been partying the previous night.
The police also found bloodstains on Nikhil’s clothes, his phone was switched off, and he was absconding. As the police initially had no information about the fight, and there were no eyewitnesses or other evidence, the needle of suspicion pointed towards Nikhil. Further, Jamindar’s relative filed a case suspecting Nikhil of killing his friend.
A senior police officer said that the investigators believed that Nikhil had killed his friend. The police focused on tracing him and he was later nabbed at Visakhapatnam.
During interrogation, Nikhil pleaded innocence and narrated how four others had assaulted them for refusing to buy a matchbox and the four accused threatened to kill him if he revealed the murder. Out of fear, he had fled to his native place.
Further analysis of CCTV footage revealed the presence of the accused at the spot, following which they were arrested. The accused have been identified as Ujwal Prasad (29), Suraj Ram (24), Prince (26), and a 17-year-old school dropout. All of them are factory workers and natives of Uttar Pradesh, and had been staying in Bengaluru for the past 20 years.