The police have cracked the murder of a 22-year-old youth from Raichur using the WhatsApp group of beat policemen.
On November 13, the Kamakshipalya police found the body of an unidentified youth near a park in Sunkadakatte. As part of the standard operating procedure, they collected footage from CCTV cameras in and around the area. They learnt that the deceased was in a bar with another person hours before the murder. The police questioned the staff who revealed that the deceased had conversed in a north Karnataka accent.
Inspector Ravikumar R.G. circulated the picture of the deceased among inspectors of all police stations in north Karnataka seeking help in identifying the man.
The inspectors, in turn, shared the picture with the beat policemen, who then shared the picture in their area Suraksha Mitra WhatsApp groups. Their efforts paid dividends.
One of the members of the WhatsApp group — Shivraj Patil from Mulki police station in Sindhanur taluk of Vijayapura district — identified the deceased and contacted Ravikumar. The Kamakshipalya police summoned Shivraj to Bengaluru to identify the deceased.
He not only identified the deceased, but also helped the local police identify the man who was with him in the bar. Based on this information, police rushed to Chirantala village in Sindhanur taluk and arrested Basavalinga, 21.
Basavalinga claimed to killing his friend — Gundana Gowda, 22 — for making an indecent proposal.
According to the police, Gundana was a salesman and Basavalinga worked in a chicken stall in Bengaluru. They stayed separately in rented accommodation.
Basavalinga had borrowed ₹20,000 from Gundana. Recently, Basavalinga got engaged. Gundana allegedly offered to waive off the loan in return for sexual favours from Basavalinga’s fiancé.
When Gundana began to pester him, Basavalinga decided to eliminate him. He invited Gundana for a drink. On the way home, he hit Gundana on the head with a hollow brick until he died, Ravikumar said.
