Bengaluru, November 6: A cab driver has been arrested in Bengaluru for allegedly killing seven members of his wife's family, including his wife and a seven-year-old boy, following a domestic dispute, news agency IANS reported on Friday. The accused, identified by police as Indushekhar, was arrested by the Rajajinagar police.
Source: IANS (via The Freedom Press)
In a separate wire report, PTI said Bengaluru Police had taken Indushekar into custody after he claimed to have killed seven family members following a family dispute, and that DCP North Bengaluru Babasab Nemagoud said a case has been registered and the facts and details are currently being verified. Police verification is still under way, and the remaining allegations in this report rest on what police say the accused told them.
Source: PTI (via Devdiscourse)
Who the victims are
Police have identified the victims as Roopavathi of Srirampura, her daughter Sunitha - the accused's wife - her sons Shivakumar and Shankar, her daughters-in-law Divya and Nalini, and her seven-year-old grandson, IANS reported. The child is not being named in line with the protection owed to a minor victim. According to preliminary police information reported by IANS, Indushekhar married Sunitha about 20 years ago, and the couple allegedly had frequent disputes over Sunitha's continued attachment to her parental family, whose members had reportedly supported her during those disputes - which, police say, allegedly angered the accused.
How the case came to light
The case came to light after Nalini went missing and her mother lodged a complaint with the Srirampura police, IANS reported. Police questioned Indushekhar, whose allegedly contradictory statements raised suspicion; a search of his house reportedly yielded clues linked to the crime, and during questioning the accused allegedly confessed to the murders, according to IANS.
What police allege happened
Police sources told IANS the killings were allegedly planned in advance. The accused allegedly first killed his wife at his residence by attacking her with a grinding stone, then allegedly told her family that Sunitha had gone on a trip with friends to avoid raising suspicion. He allegedly invited his brothers-in-law, Shivakumar and Shankar, to his house on the pretext of consuming alcohol and killed them, and is also accused of killing Nalini and Divya, his mother-in-law Roopavathi, and the seven-year-old boy, IANS reported. The Daily Jagran, citing PTI and reporting in The Hindu, said the accused allegedly used chemicals to clean the house and remove bloodstains, and that police have seized the car allegedly used to transport the bodies as well as the grinding stone. All of these details are police allegations that have not been tested in court.
Source: The Daily Jagran (citing PTI and The Hindu)
What is solid
- Rajajinagar police have arrested the accused, a Bengaluru cab driver identified as Indushekhar, and a case has been registered, DCP North Bengaluru Babasab Nemagoud said (PTI)
- One body - that of the seven-year-old boy - has been recovered near Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapur district after a search of nearly four hours, and police say a car and a grinding stone have been seized (IANS)
- A special team of three Assistant Commissioners of Police has been formed under the DCP to trace the remaining bodies, with West Division Joint Commissioner Vamsi Krishna and the DCP supervising the investigation (IANS)
What is only claimed
- The deaths of the other six victims have not yet been independently confirmed - their bodies have not been recovered, and the account rests on the accused's alleged confession, which police say they are verifying (PTI, IANS)
- Reports differ on the timeline: IANS says the alleged murders reportedly took place two days ago, while The Daily Jagran, citing The Hindu's account of the police investigation, puts the killings in a window between October 16 and November 3, and PTI reporting says they were committed over two days - police are questioning the accused on the exact timeline
Search for the remaining bodies
Police said the accused disposed of the bodies at different locations around Nandi Hills, IANS reported; The Daily Jagran, citing PTI, said bodies were dumped at different locations including Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapur district and Charmadi Ghat in coastal Karnataka. The accused was taken to the Nandi Hills area on Thursday and the boy's body was recovered after nearly four hours of searching; efforts are continuing to trace the remaining bodies. Police are also examining whether anyone assisted the accused, The Daily Jagran reported. According to IANS, the accused had been running a newspaper titled 'Thana Varadi' and had been living in a rented house near Bhashyam Circle for the past eight years, and police are examining allegations related to a dispute between him and the building's owner.
What happens next
Police say the investigation is continuing: the special team is searching for the remaining bodies and gathering evidence, the seized car and grinding stone will form part of the forensic examination, and the accused remains in police custody for questioning. Further official confirmation - including the recovery and identification of the remaining victims - is awaited, and this report will need to be read alongside the police's verified findings as they emerge.