'Killers' of Rekha Kadiresh caught after high-speed chase

Surya. Credit: DH Photo

Peter. Credit: DH Photo

Two men suspected to have killed former BBMP corporator Rekha Kadiresh in broad daylight in central Bengaluru on Thursday were captured after hours of high-speed police chase on Friday.

The suspects were once the confidants of Rekha and her husband S Kadiresh, who was himself brutally murdered in February 2018. Rekha represented ward number 138 (Chalavadipalya) in the previous BBMP council and belonged to the ruling BJP.

Rekha was walking home after taking part in a free meal distribution programme at her home in Chalavadipalya, central Bengaluru, when the dagger-carrying assailants came from nowhere around 10.30 am on Thursday.

As they attacked her ferociously, she ducked into an alley. They chased her down and stabbed her on upper parts of the body, focusing on the neck, the throat, the head and the shoulders. She was taken to Victoria Hospital but wasn’t treated there in view of Covid-19. She was declared brought dead at KIMS Hospital around 11 am.

So ferocious was the attack that the duo warned bystanders against coming to Rekha’s rescue.

Eyewitness accounts and a mobile phone video helped the police quickly identify the assailants as Peter, 46, and Surya, 20, both from the nearby locality of Anjanappa Garden. Bengaluru police chief Kamal Pant said the suspects were once “very close” to Rekha and her husband. Their motive is not yet known, he added.

Soon after the murder, Peter and Surya sped off on a bike towards the Tamil Nadu border. They later got into an auto-rickshaw and headed towards Hosur. Meanwhile, Peter changed his phone number and rang up a few close friends to get the “latest updates” from Anjanappa Garden. A police team went to the Hosur border in search of them but was beaten to it by the duo.

Cyber detectives later helped the police pinpoint the duo’s hideout: it was a bushy area near the Bajaj ground in Sunkadakatte in an opposite corner of the city. A 10-member police squad rushed there around 12.15 pm.

Seeing the cops at the Bajaj ground, the suspects started to run. Sub-inspector Kariyanna and head constable Chandrashekar were allegedly attached with knives when they tried to apprehend the duo.

Inspectors Chidananda Murthy T B and Shivaswamy C B, from Cottonpet and Upparpet police stations, respectively, then shot them in the leg. While Murthy shot Surya, Shivaswamy fired at Shivaswamy. The injured policemen are undergoing treatment at a private hospital. The injured suspects have been admitted to the government-run Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Trauma and Orthopaedics.

According to the police chief, Surya and Peter are the main suspects in the murder but a few others were also involved. "There are some people who tipped the killers about Rekha’s movements, helped them escape and gave them logistic support,” he said. “We have leads on them and will catch them soon.”

A police officer said Peter had six criminal cases against him, including three murders, one assault and two attempted dacoities. Surya is wanted for two murders and two attempted murders.

Rekha's nephew Sanjay has filed a complaint with the Cottonpet police, naming Peter and Surya citing eyewitness accounts.