Man held for killing colleague

The police arrested Hemanth (24), a resident of Ganapathipur, on charges of murdering his colleague Pushpalatha for gain, and recovered jewellery worth around Rs one lakh.

According to the police, Hemanth and Pushpalatha were employed at Maruti packing factory on Shivashakthi Road in Ganapathipur.

Hemanth had overheard Pushpalatha telling her friends in the first week of May that she wanted to offer special pooja at a temple for the speedy recovery of her ailing husband.

Hemanth hatched a conspiracy to rob and kill her. He told Pushpalatha that his native place was close to Ghati Subramanya. He assured her that he would take her to the temple and make arrangements for the special pooja.

Plan executed

Hemanth and Pushpalatha left for Doddaballapur in a bus on May 8. Later, he took her to his brother’s house at Ujjani. Both of them stayed there for a night and left the place around 4 am the next day.

While passing through the forests at Kadinakuppe village, Hemanth stabbed her several times and smashed her head with a stone. He collected the jewellery on her and burnt the body beyond recognition, the police said.

On May 18, the police were tipped off that an unidentified person, armed with weapons, was moving suspiciously near Sarakki Lake at Puttenahalli.

The police arrested Hemanth and during interrogation, he is reported to have confessed to committing various crimes. He also confessed to have murdered Pushpalatha and stated that he had pledged the jewellery with two gold loan companies.