Alert neighbour helps nab three suspects

It was the presence of mind shown by a neighbour of the former banker who was murdered at his house in Wilson Garden by a seven-member gang that led to the immediate arrest of three of the suspects.

Mohan (name changed), a next door resident of Uday Raj Singh, said, “Around 2.50 pm, we heard someone screaming continously for over two minutes. I went out and looked around, but could not make out anything. When I went to the first floor of my house and peeped through the window, I saw a knife-wielding man walking inside Singh’s house. I was shocked as he was completely soaked in blood.”

“I immediately informed my cousin and alerted the other neighbours and passersby that something untoward was happening inside Singh house. My cousin called up the police control room and informed the constables who were guarding the nearby Mary Immaculate School.

“The police rushed to the spot and with the help of the public, nabbed three of the suspects who were trying to flee.” 

Mahesh (name changed), Mohan’s cousin, said, “When we went to the terrace to check on the neighbouring house, we saw three small buckets filled with water mixed with blood. The attackers had washed themselves before fleeing. A jewellery box was also found on the blood-stained terrace.”

According to the neighbours, Singh was taking care of six to seven stray dogs and they used to be inside the compound or near the gate always. No one went near his house as they were scared of the dogs.

A relative of Singh said, “He was an introvert and always kept to himself. He had an immense love for dogs, but the canines were not there at the time of the murder. The couple’s relatives never visited them at their place as everyone was afraid of the dogs. Instead, the relatives asked the couple to come to their houses.”

She said that Singh had retired from service a couple of years ago. He had moved to this rented house a year ago.

One of the neighbours who used to speak to him often said, “Singh used to say that he had some precious jewels which he wanted to sell. He wanted to build a house on his site near Konanakunte, with the money earned. His ancestors were from Rajasthan and were into jewellery business. 

Police constable Mannappa, Somashekaraiah, Nanjundaswamy, Abhishek and Ramakrishna, attached to the Adugodi station and two passersby - Manju and Satish - caught the three suspects. They would be rewarded for their presence of mind, said a senior police officer.