Jaishankar alias Shanker was arrested on May 4 evening at Zalki in Bijapur district bordering Maharashtra and was brought to Chitradurga on Thursday, Dr S T Ramesh, DGP&IG told the mediapersons here on Friday.

He is wanted in connection with 19 cases of murder or rape in Tamil Nadu, and five in Karnataka - four in Chitradurga and one in Tumkur. The suspect, with his face covered with a black cloth was presented before the media persons.

“We were certain that the suspect was Jaishankar, and the Tamil Nadu have confirmed our suspicision,” Ramesh said.

Reward for policemen

He said the Bijapur and Chitradurga police will share the reward of Rs. one lakh for apprehending Jaishankar, along with informants. Jaishankar (33) of Eduppadi in Salem district had escaped from police custody at the Salem bus station. He then came to Chitradurga and then to Tumkur where he committeed five murders in a month, Ramesh said.

The killings were suspected to be the handiwork of a serial killer and a State-wide hunt was launched, and Satanarayana Rao, DGP (Crime and Technical Service) was appointed to head the investigation group and to coordinate with the Tamil Nadu police.

The police brass in the neighbouring State responded to our request and sent a 10-member team to Chitradurga and the data they gave has been very useful,” Ramesh said.

“As many as 4,000 posters of the suspect’s picture were pasted all over the State and adequate publicity was given through the media. Police kept a careful vigil on the highways,” Ramesh said.

Misbehaved with women

On April 4, at Yeligi near Zalki, Jaishankar tried to misbehave with a woman while asking for food.

Suspicious about him, the people of the village handed him over to the police. He is now being interrogated by Chitradurga and Tumkur police, and he will be handed over to the Tamil Nadu police at the appropriate time, Ramesh said.

He complimented the SP and staff of the three districts - M N Nagaraj of Chitradurga, Suresh (Tumkur) and Rajappa (Bijapur). Twenty-one policemen of Tumkur, 18 of Chitradurga and six from Bijapur would be rewarded, the DGP&IG said.