TUMAKURU: In a ghastly incident, a man allegedly blew up an explosive even as he was sitting inside a rented car on Bengaluru-Pune NH-48 at Jogihalli village in Sira taluk near Tumakuru on Saturday afternoon. While he was charred to death, his estranged girlfriend, whom he had stabbed, and the driver of the car managed to escape.
The deceased, Nagendra (30), who was a shopkeeper, had allegedly kidnapped his girlfriend of seven years, Ramya Ullas, from Bengaluru and was taking her to their village Agasuru in Ankola when the strange drama unfolded. Nagendra was said to have arrived in Bengaluru over a week ago and was pestering Ramya to marry him. Ramya works as a technician at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital at Jayanagar in Bengaluru.
After abducting Ramya from her paying guest accommodation in Bengaluru, he started arguing with her in the car. As their tiff escalated, Nagendra pulled out a knife and stabbed her. A terrified Ramya screamed and jumped out of the moving car. The driver, who was petrified seeing the horrific scene on the backseat, stopped the car and escaped.
Nagendra, who was still inside the car, switched on the central locking system and blew up the explosive he brought along. He was charred to death and the car was gutted by the time a fire fighters arrived at the spot.
Nagendra seemed prepared for the extreme action as he had carried the explosive as well as the knife, police sources said. “We are yet to ascertain whether he used a petrol bomb or country made bomb for the explosion,” said Superintendent of Police Ashok KV, adding that the samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Bengaluru.
Ramya was shifted to the district hospital and is recuperating. Her roommate has filed a complaint about the abduction, the SP said. Kallambella police have registered a case.
