BENGALURU: J Kenneth (26), the co-accused in the KR Puram triple murder case, was arrested while he was drinking at a bar in Puducherry around 10 pm on Thursday.
Ten special teams from the Whitefield police division and three from the Puducherry police secured his arrest in a joint operation.
An official attached to the Puducherry police was tipped off about Kenneth by the staff of the bar, which is situated at Anna Salai in Puducherry. When the police officer arrived at the bar along with his team, Kenneth assaulted a police officer and started running.
The police team gave him a chase for nearly half-a-kilometre and apprehended him.
‘Accused neither used phones, nor spoke to anyone’
Ever since the main accused in the case, Shwetha, was arrested near Puducherry Railway Station on Tuesday, the special teams from both Whitefield and Puducherry were on the hunt for him.
The city police had handed out Kenneth’s photo to Puducherry police, who in turn had shared it with all hotels, lodges, bars and restaurants and even the local driver community. When Kenneth was at the bar, the officer, Ramalingam, attached to the Orleanpet police station in Puducherry, was tipped off, leading to Kenneth’s arrest.
Confirming his arrest, City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said that the woman accused was arrested on June 24 and the other on Thursday. “Based on technical and intelligence reports, the two accused have been arrested. They neither used mobile phones nor kept in touch with anybody. Ten police teams from the Whitefield division and three from Puducherry police, headed by an assistant superintendent of police, were looking for the second accused.
The role of the Puducherry police helped us arrest the second accused. The two accused are changing their versions. The case is still in its early stages of investigation. During the interrogation, if the role of any others is found, they will also have to be picked up. We are collecting evidence,” he added.
A press release issued by the city police commissioner’s office on Friday stated that the main accused, Shwetha, was on Thursday produced before the court, which handed her over to 15-day police custody. “After an intense search, her absconding friend was secured in Puducherry on Thursday. During interrogation, he too confessed to his involvement in the triple murder,” the press release stated.
The 52-year-old Soma Sundar, a software engineer, his wife 48-year-old Muthulakshmi and their daughter Supriya, 19, residents of Nallurahalli in Whitefield, were murdered at Shwetha’s flat in Sai Green Homes apartment in Seegehalli on Monday night. The parents’ Objection to her live-in relationship with Kenneth and financial issues are said to be the reasons for the murders.
