BENGALURU: The KG Nagar police have cracked a case in which an autorickshaw driver was allegedly murdered by his wife and his friend, who were reportedly in an illicit relationship. The friend and his cousin have been arrested.
The accused have been identified as Sanju MS (28), who hails from KR Pet in Mandya, and his cousin Subramanya RR (20), a resident of Ramanathapura in Arakalgud taluk of Hassan district. The victim’s wife Ranjitha (24) is absconding, and the police are looking for her. The deceased, Karthik KV (25), hailed from Maddur taluk, and was residing in Brundavana Nagar near Srinagar.
Police said that Karthik and Ranjitha got married in 2016. His close friend, Sanju, also an auto driver, was living with the couple in their house. Karthik and Sanju rode the same vehicle, with Karthik usually doing night shifts. On the evening of July 29, he left home and did not return. His wife lodged a missing person’s complaint with the KG Nagar police on August 1.
“The investigation revealed that Karthik was murdered by Ranjitha, Sanju, and his cousin. Sanju and Subramanya were subsequently arrested, while Ranjitha fled. It is also found that Sanju and Ranjitha had an affair and plotted to eliminate Karthik so that they could continue with their relationship. Sanju roped in his cousin for the job and took Karthik to Channapatna by saying there was a party.
The cousins murdered Karthik the same night by hitting him with a jack rod, and then stabbing him, and smashing his head with a boulder. They packed the body into a gunny bag and dumped it in the bushes at an isolated area between Rajarajeshwari Medical College and Doddabele Road. The body was recovered and handed over to the family after an autopsy,” the police added.
MAN’S BODY FOUND IN DRAIN
A 38-year-old autorickshaw driver was found dead in a drain in Prakash Nagar in Sriramapura police station limits, on Wednesday morning. Police suspect that Vinod Kumar, a resident of Vidyaranyapura, might have accidently fallen into the drain at night and died as he suffered from epilepsy and was also addicted to alcohol. Kumar used to stay at Prakash Nagar earlier and had shifted to Vidyaranyapura a few years ago. However, he used to spend time in Prakash Kumar and sleep in his vehicle there at nights. “On Wednesday morning, passersby noticed his body in the drain and alerted the police. We are waiting for the autopsy report to know the exact cause of death,” the police said.