BENGALURU: An advocate who was initially suspected to have died of natural causes was found to have died following an alleged assault by an auto-rickshaw driver over a fare dispute. The case came to light after the victim’s family raised suspicions over injuries on his body. The Annapoorneshwari Nagar police recently arrested the accused.
The deceased has been identified as Sriram (43). The accused, Pruthiraj (31), is a resident of Magadi Road and a native of Mandya.
Police said Sriram collapsed on Nagarabhavi Ring Road on October 9. He was rushed to a hospital but succumbed. The police initially registered a case of unnatural death.
During the investigation, the police learnt that Sriram had a heated argument with an auto-rickshaw driver shortly before the incident. The postmortem report subsequently confirmed that he had suffered a severe head injury that led to blood clotting in the brain. Following the findings, the police converted the case into a murder case.
The investigation revealed that Sriram had approached an auto-rickshaw driver near Ambedkar College to return home. However, he declined to hire the auto following a dispute over the fare. Angered by this, Pruthiraj allegedly confronted Sriram, abused him and assaulted him. Sriram managed to walk some distance before collapsing on the road, the police said. The accused has been arrested and remanded in judicial custody.