The 3-month-old case had baffled them because there was no motive; cop solved it after 'remembering' rickshaw driver's testimony
The 3-month-old case had baffled them because there was no motive; cop solved it after 'remembering' rickshaw driver's testimonyKilling a cabbie and blurting it out in front of an auto-rickshaw driver landed a gang of muggers from Kolar in the police net. The police, who were baffled with the murder case for the last three months, finally cracked the case. The accused, Umashankar, Gajendra and Venkatesh would make regular visits to the city to rob techies and people employed with major corporations. They would also threaten unsuspecting cabbies, and after looting them, would bind and bundle them into the cab's boot, before fleeing. They got away with two such muggings, but murder led to their downfall.u00a0
Accused: Umashankar was nabbed by HSR Layout police yesterday.pic/Sanjay MDu00a0
The incident
On October 12, 2010, cab driver Nagaraj was returning after his shift, and picked up three passengers at the Central Silk Board Junction. At Rainbow Drive Layout (near HSR Layout), the trio threatened him with a
dagger, and tied his hands and legs. An undaunted Nagraj began screaming assuming that someone would rescue him since it is a residential area.
The gang panicked and Umashankar accidentally stabbed Nagraj in the abdomen, and he fell unconscious.
The gang felt that if he lived, he might disclose their identities to the police, so they slit his throat, and dumped the body at an isolated spot, and sped away.
But half a kilometer away, they met with an accident, sustaining injuries in the process. They abandoned the car, and continued on foot.u00a0 Nandakumar, an autorickshaw driver, saw them and enquired about the blood on their clothes.
At first, they were evasive, but Nandakumar kept asking where they were from, and Umashankar mentioned that they were from Kolar. This made Nandkumar suspicious, because they were not headed to a hospital.
He reported the incident to the HSR Layout police, who launched a manhunt, but the accused had fled by then. The next day, they found Nagraj's body, but could not find any clues.
Later, an officer remembered what Nandakumar had said, and opened files of criminals from Kolar. During the investigation, Gajendra's name cropped up, and he was called him in for questioning, but he denied any part in the murder.
Later, and examination of his cell phone records, revealed that he had been in the city on the day of the
murder. LY Rajesh, Police Inspector, HSR Layout said, "Since the cabbie had no conflict with anyone, and was not even carrying enough money, we had nothing to lead with. But the mention of Kolar helped us crack the case. The accused have been involved in two other robbery cases."
