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Abducted I-T officer's son murdered by friend

Last Updated 22 September 2017, 21:10 IST

The 19-year-old son of an Income Tax (I-T) Department officer, who was abducted 10 days ago, was murdered by his childhood friend and four of his accomplices.

The police found Sharath Niranjan’s body in a decomposed state on Friday near a quarry in Ajjenahalli, Ramanagara district.

Sharath’s friend and kingpin H P Vishal (21) has been arrested with three of his accomplices Vinay Prasad (24), a driver, Karan Pai (22), an employee at a private factory in Bidadi, and Vinod Kumar V (24). One accomplice, Shanta Kumar, an Uber driver, is absconding.

Vishal is also Sharath’s sister’s classmate and works as an agent at Ullal RTO.

In a bid to make a fast buck, Vishal hatched a plan to abduct Sharath and demand a ransom.

He convinced his accomplices that they could demand money from Sharath’s father, V Niranjan Kumar, an I-T official.

Vishal used his proximity to the family to obtain leads on its moves and mislead investigators.

The plot

Sharath, a second-year student of automobile engineering, left his Ullal residence on September 12 at 6.30 pm to show his new Bullet Classic motorcycle to his friends.

Vishal, who knew that Sharath loved imported bikes, lured him into the trap.

Vishal told Sharath that he could ride his friend’s imported bike and asked him to come near Mysuru Satellite bus stop. The gang then took Sharath to the outskirts of the city in a Swift Dzire and threatened him.

They sent a WhatsApp message to Sharath’s family, demanding a ransom of Rs 50 lakh. In the video, Sharath is heard telling his father that people who were troubled by him are responsible for his abduction. This was around 10 pm.

Vishal then called Sharath’s sister and asked her what her parents were planning to do. When she said they are going to approach the police, Vishal released another video.
A shaken Sharath is heard saying: “Do not approach the police...if you approach, kidnappers are going to kill me...they have been following my sister too...Please arrange the ransom.”

The gang then moved around the city but soon concluded that Sharath’s family is not going to pay them any money.

City Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said Sharath was strangled the same night he was kidnapped.

The gang then tied his body to a boulder and dumped it in Narasimhaiah lake in Ramohalli, said Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Malini Krishnamoorthy.

Vishal then visited Sharath’s house to console the family. He regularly visited them to update himself about the probe and even helped them during the investigation, said Suneel Kumar.

The accused regularly visited the lake to ensure that the body did not float. But the body started floating after a few days. They tried tying more boulders but to no avail. They then retrieved the decomposed body and went around the city for a day, before burying it near the quarry. Investigators stumbled upon a mobile number through a tower from where the WhatsApp message was generated.

“The number belonged to Vishal’s mother. We took him in for questioning and he confessed to the crime,” the commissioner added.

Vishal said during the confession that they initially decided to let Sharath go, but fearing that he would reveal their identity, they decided to kill him.

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(Published 22 September 2017, 06:38 IST)

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