Two held for murder of car driver

The Baiyyappanahalli police recently arrested two members of a gang for the murder of an SUV owner-cum-driver. They have recovered the vehicle (Innova) worth Rs 10 lakh.

The suspects are Bharath Kumar, 21, a resident of Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, and Mohan Babu, 19, a resident of Baiyyappanahalli. 

The duo allegedly murdered Dharmaraj, the owner-cum-driver of the SUV, and fled with his vehicle and valuables, police said. Five more persons are involved in the murder. There are definite leads and they will be arrest soon, police added.

A native of Haveri district, Dharmaraj had settled down in the City. The gang got his number through ‘Justdial.’ One of the suspects contacted him, saying he wanted to hire the vehicle as his wife wanted to go to her native place and requested him to come to Bethamangala in Kolar district on April 2, police said.

When Dharmaraj came to Bethamangala, the suspects, as per their plan, told him that it would take some time for their friend’s wife to come, and requested him to join them for a drink. They took him to a eucalyptus grove near Bethamangala lake and after making him drunk, they attacked and killed him with lethal weapons.

After robbing him of the valuables, they dumped his body in the grove and drove off in his car. Later, they made an unsuccessful attempt to sell off the vehicle for Rs three lakh. Police went after the suspects by contacting them as buyers of the SUV, after which they arrested them.