BENGALURU: Accused of killing seven people, including his wife and a seven-year-old boy, taxi driver Arjun Indushekar, alias Shekar, reportedly bears a “normal appearance and exhibits an uncanny calm”, said sources who didn’t wish to be named. Shekar has reportedly confessed his crimes to police and is “cooperating with the investigation. He has shown no remorse for killing the seven victims”, added sources.
The serial killing itself is shocking, and the manner in which Shekar allegedly planned and executed them is cold-blooded and blood-curdling. He allegedly killed his victims – wife Sunitha (40), her mother Roopavathi (65), brothers Shivakumar (30) and Shankar (44), their wives Divya and Nalini, aged 30 and 29, and Shivakumar’s seven-year-old son Puneeth – in the fortnight between October 16 and 31.
The place of crime reportedly varied between the hall and washroom outside, in their barely 500sqft flat on top of a two-storey building near Bhashyam Circle, Rajajinagar. “He invited Shivakumar and Shankar on different dates for dinner. In the absence of Sunitha, the two unsuspecting women even helped cook the meal, little knowing what lay ahead of them. After dinner they stayed the night at Shekar’s house.
That’s when he reportedly killed them separately with the grinding stone, either in the hall or washroom, when one of them would have gone to attend nature’s call. He used to serve alcohol with dinner but whether he sedated them is not yet verified,” said sources.
Though Shekar and his minor daughter reportedly dressed the crime scenes and washed the blood, police have been able to detect blood stains. While Shekhar is said to be cooperating with the police, his narration of events cannot be taken at face value.
“Police are investigating every angle, aspect and reason behind the shocking murders, including property dispute, old enmity etc,” they added.
“Shekar allegedly blames his wife for marital discord and claims she would often ridicule him for not bringing enough money home, and on occasions emotionally blackmail him with her alleged extra-marital affairs, something that made him more angry and revengeful. The age difference between them may also have added to his rising insecurity. But so far no such claim (of his late wife’s extra-marital relationships) has come to the fore,” said sources.
Police have recovered all seven bodies, with the last two -- of Shankar and Nalini -- being found in Shiradi Ghat in Hassan district on Monday.
Premeditated murders: Expert
“Based on information available in media reports, the alleged acts of killings appear to involve a degree of planning and organisation,” said Professor of Psychiatry, and Head of Forensic Psychiatry Unit, National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (Nimhans), Dr Suresh Bada Math, a leading forensic psychiatrist.
“The reported selection of victims, alleged sequence of events, disposal of bodies at different locations, and subsequent attempts to conceal evidence, if established through investigation, may indicate premeditation and goal-directed behaviour,” he added.
“The circumstances, as reported, raise serious concern about the nature and extent of the alleged retaliatory violence and the possibility of actions driven by longstanding interpersonal grievances. However, it is important to exercise caution before drawing any conclusions about the accused’s mental state. We have neither personally examined him nor have access to medical records, forensic evidence or collateral history.
Any opinion regarding his psychiatric condition, mental state at the time of the alleged offences, or criminal responsibility would require a comprehensive forensic psychiatric evaluation. Until then, any interpretation of his mental state must remain provisional,” he said.
The reported claim of Indushekar’s minor daughter assisting her father in the crimes is “particularly concerning and deserves careful examination. We should not automatically interpret her alleged participation as evidence of criminal intent or a psychiatric abnormality. Her age, level of maturity, understanding of the alleged events, degree of awareness, parental coercion, influence and capacity to make independent decisions need to be carefully assessed”, explained Bada Math.
