Disabled man murdered over property

In a bid to usurp his property, a 52-year-old physically-challenged man was strangled to death allegedly by a real estate agent and two of his associates at his residence in Ramaiah Layout, Banaswadi, on Thursday night.

The deceased, Gopal Raju, who was stricken by polio, was found dead on the second floor of his four-storey building.

The Banaswadi police said that Raju, who married six months ago, was living with his mother and wife on the first floor of the building. After divorcing his first wife, he married Madhavi (36) from Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh. The police said Madhavi is a distant relative of the prime accused Madhu.

Killed at home

They said that the tenants on the second floor had recently moved out and Raju had asked Madhu to look out for tenants. On Thursday evening, Madhu along with two people went to Raju’s house and said they wanted to see the house. Raju took two persons to the second floor, while Madhu was talking to Raju’s mother on the first floor.

After a while, the two persons left hurriedly. The incident came to light when Raju’s mother found him lying with his mouth covered with a plaster.

The Banaswadi police have formed a team to nab Madhu and his associates. Preliminary investigations reveal that Madhu had hatched a plan to kill Raju to take over his property through Madhavi. The police are trying to secure Madhavi’s custody for further investigation.