Miscreants ransack house, kill couple for gain
BENGALURU: In a case of murder for gain, an elderly couple was killed by unknown persons in Mahadevapura on Wednesday night. The assailants ransacked the house, then locked the house from outside before fleeing, police said.
The deceased were identified as Chandregowda (63) and his wife Lakshmamma (55), residents of RHB Colony, Garudacharpalya. The couple had no children, and had adopted a daughter.
A senior police officer said the incident took place late at night in the couple’s house on the first floor of a two-storey building. The incident came to light on Thursday morning when Shivaraj, one of their tenants, reached Chandregowda’s house and found them lying in a pool of blood. He alerted Mahadevapura police, who rushed to the spot with an FSL team and dog squad to inspect the crime scene. Chandregowda’s body was found in the drawing-room while Lakshmamma’s body was inside the bedroom. The assailants had attacked the couple with a blunt weapon, before ransacking their wardrobes. Based on preliminary investigations, police suspect that at least two people were involved in the crime, and could be known to the couple.
The assailants had ransacked the house and fled with some valuables. Arpitha, the couple’s adopted daughter, told police that she had spoken to them around 9pm on Wednesday, and that they would call her every day. She did not name anyone, saying the couple did not have enmity among relatives in the locality.
Arpitha, who lives in KR Pet with her husband, rushed to the city when the bodies were shifted to Vaidehi Hospital for postmortem. Police obtained CCTV footage to track the movements of the accused.
Shivaraj, who runs a flour mill on the ground floor, told TNIE, “Around 10am, I noticed water overflowing from the tank and went to alert them. When I knocked on the door, there was no response, and the door was locked from outside. I peeped through the window and spotted Chandregowda’s legs, with blood around the body. I called Mahadevapura police. I knew the couple for 15 years, they were nice to everyone and had no financial disputes.”