A mere two days after of the murder of land dealer S. Manjunath (43), whose body was found at Kesaranahalli under Bangarpet police limits in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) police district, the Bangarpet police announced the arrest of his wife and four others. The police also revealed the murder took place in the victim’s house itself.
The arrested are Mangala alias Meena (38), Kiran (28), Murali (26), Lokesh and Babu, both in their 20s.
Police said Mangala and Kiran, the couple’s tenant, were having an affair for the past two years. When Manjunath came to know of it recently, he asked Kiran to vacate the house, leading the two to plot his murder.
According to the police, Kiran and his wife moved into Manjunath’s house as tenants about five years ago.
Around 2 a.m. on Monday, the five accused stabbed Manjunath in his bedroom and killed him. While Mangala remained in the house, the remaining four tried to dispose of the body. Murali, who drove Manjunath’s car with his body, went via Malur, Bangarpet, Kolar and Devanagundi before setting the body on fire at Ajjappanahalli.
On his way back, the vehicle glanced a car following which he had abandoned it in Kadugodi and fled. KGF Superintendent of Police Nagaraj said the police found three daggers and a mobile phone in the car. The phone log showed a number of calls exchanged among the five suspects and this helped guide the police in their investigation.
Police said there were bloodstains in Manjunath’s house for which Manjula could not give a proper explanation.
The Bangarpet police also said they got excellent cooperation from the Mahadevapura police (the jurisdiction in which Manjunath resided) and Kadugodi police (where his car was found). A reward has also been announced for the Bangarpet police by senior officials for cracking the case in two days.
