Cong TMC member, her son to be charged with BJP rival's murder

Police are set to file the charge sheet in two weeks over the brutal murder of a 45-year-old BJP member of the Bommasandra Town Municipal Council (TMC). A combination of political rivalry and a dispute over a burial place led to the murder of Vasu alias Srinivasa Prasad on March 14, a police officer said.

“The suspects’ confessions, the statements of witnesses and technical evidence such as call detail record have established the culpability. The charge sheet could be filed in two weeks,” the officer said, requesting anonymity.

Sarojamma, a Congress member of the TMC, her son Manjunath and his associates Sathish, Madhu, Murali and Manjunath C are likely to be charged with the murder.

The first trigger for the murder was the confrontation between Vasu and Manjunath over a grave on a private land located between Banahalli and Kittaganahalli. In the grave, Manjunath had buried a relative who had died of poor health a year ago. The land was subsequently purchased by a group of builders who planned to develop a residential layout there. They sought Vasu’s help and went on to level the grave.

“Manjunath became furious after learning about the grave and vowed to kill the project engineers. But Vasu backed the builders,” the officer said.

Local residents asked Vasu to respect Manjunath’s sentiments but he didn’t pay heed and got the entire land fenced except the grave. The rift only widened.

The second motive for the murder was Vasu’s decision to challenge in court the reservation of the TMC president’s post, which scuttled the chances of Manjunath’s mother, Sarojamma.

Vasu, a resident of Kittaganahalli, had been a member of the Bommasandra gram panchayat thrice. His wife Shailaja is a BJP member of Bengaluru Urban zilla panchayat.

Manjunath decided to eliminate Vasu and entrusted the job to four of his associates. The henchmen made two unsuccessful attempts on Vasu’s life on March 13. But Manjunath didnt’ give up. He hosted a party for his associates at his girlfriend’s house in Jayanagar to cheer them up and asked them to make another attempt the next morning, the officer said.

This time around, the suspects came up with a definitive plan to hoodwink Vasu and then kill him. Accordingly, at 4.50 am, Madhu telephoned Vasu, saying his (Madhu’s) mother had met with a road accident near the Kempegowda International Airport. He requested him to come to the spot and facilitate her mother’s treatment. An unsuspecting Vasu walked into the trap and left his house. Around 5 am, the killers waylaid him near BTL Institute of Technology in Bommasandra Industrial Area and hacked him to death. Fifteen minutes later, Manjunath called up his mother and said the “job had been done”, the officer said.
DH News Service