4 held for killing man; cops suspect wife's role

Four people were arrested for murdering a 30-year-old man. The Whitefield division police suspect the victim's wife, who was a close friend of one of the accused.

The Varthur police arrested Shivakumar (27), Karthik (23), Pawan (19), and Rakshit (19), all residents of Varthur. Shivakumar is the friend of victim Nawaz’s wife Ayesha, the police have learnt.

Nawaz and Ayesha (28) were married for 1½ years and it was the second marriage for both. Ayesha had two children from her earlier marriage. Nawaz was a truck driver and the couple lived in Varthur, said the police.

Shivakumar worked as a cab driver and Rakshit was doing his BSc. Karthik and Pawan were doing part-time jobs, the police said, adding all were friends.

According to the police, the incident occurred on August 20 around 4 am when Pawan called up Nawaz and asked him to come with his truck for transporting some merchandise. The unsuspecting Nawaz came with his truck to an isolated spot near Varthur. The four men then hit Nawaz on the head with an iron rod and slit his throat. They then bundled his body into a gunny bag and drove to Kudremukh in Chikkamagaluru district and disposed of the body in the flood affected areas, the police said.

They then returned to the city after which Ayesha, the same day, lodged a missing complaint with the Varthur police. Two days later, Nawaz’s parents approached the same police station and informed the police they suspect Ayesha. The police probed her call-detail records and found out she was in touch with Shivakumar. Investigation revealed the last call to Nawaz’s phone was made by Pawan who was also a friend of Shivakumar. The police picked up Pawan and Shivakumar, who confessed to the murder. The police then arrested the two others.

The police then picked up Ayesha for questioning after which they learnt that Ayesha was a close friend of Shivakumar. Nawaz who knew about it, objected to their friendship. Nawaz and Ayesha used to quarrel over the issue which could have led Shivakumar and his friends to eliminate Nawaz with the help of Ayesha, the police suspected.

"We are yet to recover the body," said Abdul Ahad, DCP Whitefield Division.