<p>The top brass of the City police claimed they invested their expertise, experience and talent to crack the Mahantesh murder case.<br /><br /></p>.<p>However, there are five unsung heroes whose ‘common sense’ helped the senior officers solve the crime - all of them constables at Vyalikaval police station. Police Commissioner B <br />G Jyothiprakash Mirji personally honoured them in his chamber.<br /><br />One of the constables had kept an eye on Ayyappa, a slum-dweller in Vyalikaval, whose lifestyle changed overnight one-and-half years ago. He started using expensive gadgets and bought a new car. The constable grew suspicious and closely monitored his movements. Ayyappa vanished all of a sudden 15 days ago. His car too was not to be seen on the road. <br /><br />But Ayyappa started using the car once again five days ago. The constable had a close look at the car and found it damaged in the front. <br /><br />He grew suspicious and reported the matter in detail to the station inspector. The inspector, in turn, passed on the information to a senior officer handling the murder case. <br />The officer met the constable and collected more information.<br /><br />Eye-witness<br /><br />Incidentally, the rider of a two-wheeler (Scooty) turned out to be the eye-witness in the case. Collecting details about the rider’s girlfriend, who rode off with him after attending a conference at Hotel Atria, helped police zero in on him. The police took details of the car, in which the assailants had come, from the eye-witness and it tallied with the account of the police constable. <br /><br />The police managed to get Ayyappa’s cellphone number and they found that he was in Tamil Nadu. The call details helped the investigating team trace his exact whereabouts. <br /><br />The officer directed his team to leave for Tamil Nadu, where they nabbed Ayyappa. <br />During interrogation, Ayyappa told police how he came in contact with Kiran Kumar, who got Mahantesh murdered. Kumar, who had a habit of visiting discotheques and call girls, used the services of Ayyappa - then working as an auto driver - to travel between Vyalikaval and Yelahanka. Ayyappa would get thousands of rupees for his service and this changed his fortunes. <br /><br />Kumar was worried when a notice was served on him following the audit of the co-operative society’s accounts. He discussed the matter with Ayyappa and directed the latter’s gang to murder any officer visiting the society office for audit. <br /><br />They hatched a conspiracy four weeks ago. Mahantesh happened to be the ‘unfortunate’ officer to be eliminated, sources said.<br /><br />One of the five policemen, a head constable, told Deccan Herald that policing taught them the importance of keen observation. <br /><br />“We are all extremely happy as our services helped crack the case,” he added.<br />The five constables requested Mirji that their names be kept confidential.<br /></p>
<p>The top brass of the City police claimed they invested their expertise, experience and talent to crack the Mahantesh murder case.<br /><br /></p>.<p>However, there are five unsung heroes whose ‘common sense’ helped the senior officers solve the crime - all of them constables at Vyalikaval police station. Police Commissioner B <br />G Jyothiprakash Mirji personally honoured them in his chamber.<br /><br />One of the constables had kept an eye on Ayyappa, a slum-dweller in Vyalikaval, whose lifestyle changed overnight one-and-half years ago. He started using expensive gadgets and bought a new car. The constable grew suspicious and closely monitored his movements. Ayyappa vanished all of a sudden 15 days ago. His car too was not to be seen on the road. <br /><br />But Ayyappa started using the car once again five days ago. The constable had a close look at the car and found it damaged in the front. <br /><br />He grew suspicious and reported the matter in detail to the station inspector. The inspector, in turn, passed on the information to a senior officer handling the murder case. <br />The officer met the constable and collected more information.<br /><br />Eye-witness<br /><br />Incidentally, the rider of a two-wheeler (Scooty) turned out to be the eye-witness in the case. Collecting details about the rider’s girlfriend, who rode off with him after attending a conference at Hotel Atria, helped police zero in on him. The police took details of the car, in which the assailants had come, from the eye-witness and it tallied with the account of the police constable. <br /><br />The police managed to get Ayyappa’s cellphone number and they found that he was in Tamil Nadu. The call details helped the investigating team trace his exact whereabouts. <br /><br />The officer directed his team to leave for Tamil Nadu, where they nabbed Ayyappa. <br />During interrogation, Ayyappa told police how he came in contact with Kiran Kumar, who got Mahantesh murdered. Kumar, who had a habit of visiting discotheques and call girls, used the services of Ayyappa - then working as an auto driver - to travel between Vyalikaval and Yelahanka. Ayyappa would get thousands of rupees for his service and this changed his fortunes. <br /><br />Kumar was worried when a notice was served on him following the audit of the co-operative society’s accounts. He discussed the matter with Ayyappa and directed the latter’s gang to murder any officer visiting the society office for audit. <br /><br />They hatched a conspiracy four weeks ago. Mahantesh happened to be the ‘unfortunate’ officer to be eliminated, sources said.<br /><br />One of the five policemen, a head constable, told Deccan Herald that policing taught them the importance of keen observation. <br /><br />“We are all extremely happy as our services helped crack the case,” he added.<br />The five constables requested Mirji that their names be kept confidential.<br /></p>
