The Bannerghatta police cracked the case of a home-alone woman’s murder case and arrested a 21-year-old garment factory employee from his native in Aurangabad on Thursday.
The accused, Indel Kumar, is among the seven accused who allegedly strangulated 52-year-old home-alone Geethamma to death and later chopped her body parts at her house so that they could carry them easily and dispose of them in the forest area. The accused carried out the brutal killing after the victim refused to transfer her property in the name of the prime accused, which he intended to sell and make quick money.
The murder came to light when neighbours complained of a foul smell emanating from the backyard, and alerted the police. The police recovered the highly decomposed torso of Geethamma on June 1.
The police rushed to the spot and found that the tenants were also missing under mysterious circumstances and started investigations, where on Thursday, one of the accused was tracked down.
Mallikarjuna Baladandi, Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru district, said that the prime accused, Pankaj Kumar Paswan from Bihar, was a tenant of the victim and worked as a labourer. He used to do odd jobs for the victim, who had been living alone ever since her husband died six years ago. The victim had two daughters who were married and settled in the city .
Pankaj realised that the victim was earning well and owned a house, which he wanted to take over and sell. He hatched a plan to get it transferred to his name and sell it to make quick money. He roped in his associates Indrajeeth Kumar, Goutham Kumar, Sataranjan Kumar, Akendar Kumar, Sumith Kumar, and Indel Kumar and hatched a plan to transfer the property.
As per the plan, he prepared a set of documents related to the property transfer and went to her house on the fateful day of May 28. The accused forced her to sign the property papers, but Geethamma refused outright. Enraged by this, Pankaj strangulated her to death with a mobile phone charger wire, while Sumith, and Indel held her hands, and legs to stop her from resisting while others kept a watch outside the house, said the police.
After strangulating Geethamma to death, the accused brought hexa blades to chop her body parts, so that they could carry them without being noticed. They carried the body parts and dumped them in the forest area in different directions, while they could not move the torso, so they buried it in the backyard of her house, in Janata Colony, and escaped.
The police team who tracked down Indel Kumar at his native place were under attack after Indel Kumar and his family members pelted stones at the police, and manhandled them while Indel was being arrested, they said.
However, the Bengaluru police, with the help of jurisdictional police, managed to pin down Indel Kumar, and arrested him, Deputy Superintendent of Police, A.V. Lakshminarayana, said, “The police have so far managed to recover the torso, head, and right hand, while they are looking out for the other body parts.”
The other six accused involved in the case are on the run, and efforts are on to track them down, Mr. Baladandi said, appreciating the police team for cracking the case, and arresting the accused.
Published - June 10, 2023 11:04 pm IST
