Former serviceman murdered at home in Domlur, police investigate property dispute angle

A former serviceman was murdered in his house in eastern Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon, just around the time he was to receive a food package from a delivery boy, police said.

Suresh alias Jude (56) was hit on the head with a blunt metal object at his home in Goutham Colony, Domlur.

Suresh lived alone on the ground floor of a three-storey residential building that he owned.

Around 1 pm, a delivery boy from Dunzo telephoned him, trying to locate him and deliver the package ordered by a nephew of Suresh’s maid who was on leave for 25 days.

When Suresh failed to return the phone calls, the nephew contacted one of his neighbours, requesting him to check on the retired army man. When the neighbour went to the house, he found the front door ajar. As he stepped into the living room, he was stunned to find Suresh lying in a pool of blood with chilli powder splintered all around.

Police suspect the killers threw chilli powder at Suresh’s face before attacking him.

Suresh, who was divorced, had been living in the house for the last three years. He had hired a woman to take care of his bedridden mother, but she passed away some time ago. The maid continued to work for Suresh after the death of his mother. She had gone to her hometown on a 25-day leave and asked a nephew to send Suresh food through Dunzo.

Police say while the house was ransacked, it’s not clear if anything was stolen. Since Suresh lived alone, it’s difficult to determine what valuables were stored where, said Bheemashankar S Guled, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), who visited the crime scene with Additional Commissioner of Police (East) A Subramanyeswara Rao.

Police also say there were no signs of forced entry into the house. The killer was most likely someone known to Suresh.

Police have also learnt that Suresh had a property dispute with his blood relatives who often visited his house and quarrelled with him about the matter.

After his mother’s death, the relatives were asking for their share of the property.

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