Serial rapist Umesh Reddy nabbed

After a prolonged ‘hide and seek game’, serial killer Umesh Reddy was arrested for the sixth time today morning in Bangalore, afte...

After a prolonged ‘hide and seek game’, serial killer Umesh Reddy was arrested for the sixth time today morning in Bangalore, after his escape from police custody on March 4 near Hiriyur.

Reddy was wanted in connection with a murder case in Chitradurga and over 15 rape cases, including one in Jammu and Kashmir, two in Mysore, three in Chitradurga and over five in Bangalore. He is also accused in the infamous rape and murder case of Roopa, which had shocked Chitradurga district in late 1996.

Reddy, aged 38, joined the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). He was posted to CRPF commandant’s house in J&K, where he reportedly raped the Commandant’s daughter and fled the State to return to his native near Chitradurga.

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Later, he was selected in the District Armed Reserve (DAR) police, allegedly with the help of a No Objection Certificate issued by a careless local inspector.

In Chitradurga, Reddy is accused of raping two girls, including Roopa, in an incident that shocked the district. When he tried to rape a high school student, a third one, she escaped by hitting him with a stone. The same girl happened to identify Reddy in uniform at a Republic Day parade in Chitradurga and tipped off the police. The incident led to his suspension from DAR in 1997.

He was first arrested by the City police in June 1997 in connection with a robbery case registered by Peenya police. Interrogation revealed that he was involved in several other cases. During a raid on his room, the police found two gunny bags full of women’s undergarments, many of them belonging to his victims.

Police said that Reddy was a transvestite and medical records had confirmed that he wore dresses of the opposite sex as a fetish

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Soon after the arrest, Reddy escaped while being taken to Bannerghatta in connection with the robbery case. Since his arrest was regularised by filing a First Information Report (FIR), police hushed up the case.

Again in 1997, he was arrested by Chitradurga police in connection with Roopa’s murder case. He was then handed over to the Corps Of Detectives (COD), which took over the investigation. But, Reddy escaped for the second time while DAR was handing him over to Bellary Central Jail authorities.

He was however, arrested by the City police after a freak accident in which he fell off a stolen motorcycle and fainted.

At the hospital, he was found wearing a saree under his clothes and verification led to the revelation of his identity and subsequent arrest.

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He staged another escape from police custody when he was being transported from Bellary to Bangalore in November 1998.

He was arrested again and was in Bellary jail till his escape in March.

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