BENGALURU: A tiny drop of blood noticed by family members during the final rites of a 52-year-old physically challenged man led to the unravelling of a murder allegedly committed by his 22-year-old nephew over a dispute related to vacating a rented house.
The accused, who allegedly cleaned the scene and attempted to pass off the death as natural following an accidental fall from the bed, was arrested by Viveknagar police.
The deceased, Inayath Pasha (52), lived alone on the ground floor of a house owned by his sister, Usma Banu, in Austin Town on a lease. He worked as a two-wheeler mechanic and had suffered from a disability in his left leg due to polio since birth.
The accused, Masoor Ahmed (22), son of the house owner, works as an adviser at a private firm in HSR Layout.
Police said that on March 1 at about 6:45 pm, Pasha’s son, Syed Mohammed Ali, found his father unresponsive. Ahmed allegedly told the family he had visited the house around 4:45 pm and that Pasha had been drinking and might have fallen from the bed, leading to his death.
Believing this, the family assumed it was a natural death and, considering Pasha’s disability, neither took him to hospital nor informed police.
However, while preparing the body for the last rites, family members noticed a small drop of blood from his mouth and alerted police.
Police rushed to the spot, suspected foul play and registered a case of unnatural death before sending the body for post-mortem examination.
The report revealed that Pasha had been assaulted on the face and chest, causing his death. Police said preliminary investigations showed that Ahmed’s family had been pressuring Pasha to vacate the house.
Ahmed, his family members and neighbours were questioned.
During interrogation, Ahmed said he had gone to Pasha’s house around 4:30 pm and asked him to vacate. When Pasha refused, an argument broke out. During the altercation, Ahmed allegedly punched him in the face and eyes and assaulted him on the chest, leading to his death.
He then allegedly placed the body on the bed to make it appear that Pasha had died after falling. Police said Ahmed later cleaned the bloodstains and hid his bloodstained clothes in a drain.
The accused has been remanded in judicial custody.