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This is an archive article published on January 11, 2024
To fund New Year party in Goa, gang turns to kidnapping, 3 held for murder of acquaintance
One phone number linked to two cases helped the Bengaluru police nab the accused in the murder of a spare parts dealer.
The police identified the accused as Sanjay T, 25; Anand, 26; and Hanumantha, 25
The Bengaluru police have arrested three men for allegedly kidnapping and killing a man after getting a ransom of Rs 5 lakh from his wife.
According to the police, the accused had earlier abducted another man, too, aiming to obtain money to celebrate New Year in Goa.
The police identified the accused as Sanjay T, 25; Anand, 26; and Hanumantha, 25. The murder victim, Gurusiddappa, was used to supplying automobile products to the mastermind, Sanjay, the police said.
On December 30, Sanjay, along with his associates, allegedly abducted Gurusiddappa and coerced him into calling his wife and instructing her to hand over the ransom amount of Rs 5 lakh to a person. However, despite getting the money, fearing getting caught by the police, the accused took Gurusiddappa to Kootagal Timmaswamy Hill in Ramanagar and stabbed him to death, the police said. Subsequently, the gang allegedly went to Goa, revelling in the money extorted from Gurusiddappa’s wife.
When Gurusiddappa failed to return home, and his phone remained inaccessible, his wife reported him missing to the Jnanabharathi police. The police zeroed in on the accused after discovering a common mobile number linked to another abduction case registered on January 2.
Kishan Kumar, the complainant in that case, worked as a carpenter at an interior design company. The police said on December 25, one of the accused contacted the interior design company under the guise of a work-related enquiry. When Kishan Kumar responded to the call on behalf of the company, the accused mistakenly believed him to be the owner and proceeded to abduct him, the police said.
Upon realising their mistake, the accused allegedly instructed Kumar to contact his company owner and demand ransom for his release. However, the owner was at Kundapur in the Udupi district and though the gang raced to Kundapur with Kumar, they learned that the owner had returned to Bengaluru, the police said.
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Then they allegedly demanded Rs 10,000 from Kumar but he did not have that much money. While they were returning to Bengaluru, Kumar escaped from their clutches, took medical care and later lodged a complaint with the Jnanabharathi police, detailing his abduction by the unidentified gang.
The police figured out that the same gang was behind the two cases and started tracking its movement to arrest all its members, barring one who is on the run.
Based on their interrogation, the police went to the Manchinabele forest and found Gurusiddappa’s body partially eaten up by wild animals.
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