City police arrested three persons for the murder of a 40-year-old tractor driver in front of the Public Works Department on Nrupathunga Road on May 11.

Shiva Nayak from Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh, a resident of Veerabhadra Nagar, Hosakerehalli, was murdered while at work.

Halasuru Gate police arrested Syed Saif (19), a resident of Lingarajapuram and Syed Nawaz (19), a resident of Venkateshwara Layout along with a 17-year-old juvenile.

Police said the accused were alcoholics and were sent out of their homes because of their habits. To make easy money, they were indulging in robberies. On May 12, around 12 am, Nayak had come to Nrupathunga Road along with his colleagues for some optical cable work. As Nayak was smoking, the accused came on a bike and approached him for a matchbox. They tried to snatch his mobile. As he resisted, they stabbed him with a knife.

The workers went in search of him and found him lying in a pool of blood in front of the PWD office. Nayak was rushed to the hospital, but didn’t respond to treatment.

Based on the call detail records, police arrested the trio. Nawaz has robbery cases registered in RT Nagar and Mahalakshmi Layout police stations.