Tuesday's horrific double murder has laid bare the fault lines and rivalries in Bengaluru's broadband industry.
Fibre Internet, or just fibrenet, is the latest internet technology that can reach up to 1 GB per second.
While big players like Airtel, Jio and ACT control the market, smaller companies have also made a mark, offering broadband plans at attractive rates.
It was this intense competition between two small fibrenet companies that likely led to the gruesome twin murders in northern Bengaluru's Hebbal-Kempapura on Tuesday, according to police and eyewitness accounts.
Phanindra Subramanya (36) and Vinu Kumar (40) founded Aironics Media Pvt Ltd in November 2022. Subramanya became managing director and Kumar the CEO. They hired about 20 people, including network engineers and ground staff.
Subramanya and Kumar hired most of the staff from Gnet Broadband, an internet service provider based on Bannerghatta Road.
Keen to disrupt the market, Aironics offered broadband plans under the Air-On brand at attractive rates, including unlimited internet at 100 Mbps for just Rs 299 monthly. This posed a challenge to Gnet, whose internet plans start at Rs 499 monthly.
After Bengaluru, Aironics expanded to Mysuru and Shivamogga.
'Joker' Felix, an Instagram influencer, who has emerged as the prime suspect in the murders, worked at Gnet, according to police sources.
A network engineer, who was present at the Aironics office when the murders occurred, said many people had left Gnet to join Subramanya's company. He was one of them.
Police sources believe the business rivalry played a key role in the twin murders.
A well-placed source identified two of the three suspects as Felix and Santosh alias Santu. "We know who they are. We have also reviewed the CCTV footage and we'll catch the killers soon," said the source, who is part of the investigation.
B M Laxmi Prasad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast), said the case was still under investigation and refused to give details.
A canine squad deployed in investigation lost track after pursuing the killers for about 500 metres, according to police.
Attackers, victim went together
The attackers and Subramanya reached the company's office on two motorcycles — a TVS Radeon and a Honda Dio.
The four men waited outside the gate, smoking. Subramanya then ushered them in, oblivious to what fate had in store for him.
The company is located in a three-storey building. The ground and first floors were rented to Aironics. The second floor is rented to a family while the landlord lives on the top floor.
Who is 'Joker' Felix?
With over 16,000 followers on Instagram, 'Joker' Felix calls himself a Kannada rapper and fashion model.
He has posted videos of fashion contests and rap performances. One video even shows him getting married in a graveyard.
A source who knows Felix described him as a "nice and kind" human being, who had lately turned to drug consumption. "I would be devastated if he's indeed behind this," the person said.
Just two hours before the murders, Felix published a cryptic post on Instagram. "This planet peoples always flatters and cheaters. So I hurt this planet peoples. I hurt only bad peoples. I never hurt any good people (sic)," the post reads.
Over five hours after the murders, a media report of the incident was posted on his Instagram account.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels | Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks