Petrol bunk staff help nab 'killers'

Two men murdered a 60-year-old man, who was into real estate business, and made away with silver ornaments and an ATM card from his house under Channamannakere Achchukattu police station limits in the early hours of Tuesday.

However, presence of mind shown by the staff of a petrol station led to the arrest of one of suspects, within a few hours after the murder.

The police said that the victim, Narasimha J Iyengar, was living alone at his home in Sumatheendra Nadiga Road in Kathriguppe as his wife and children stay in London.

After allegedly murdering Iyenger, the duo, Chandru and Ravindra, both aged around 30, went to a petrol station in Chikkajala on International Airport Road to refuel for their car. They used the stolen ATM card to make the payment.

However, they were clueless when the staff at the petrol station asked them to enter the PIN of the ATM card. The staff got suspicious and caught hold of them before alerting the local police.

When the Chikkajala police rushed to the spot and questioned them, they reportedly confessed to the murder. While the police were questioning them, Chandru, a factory employee, fled the spot. Ravindra was arrested by the police.

The Chikkajala police alerted the Channamannakere Achchukattu police, who rushed to Iyengar’s house and found his body. Later, they shifted the body to a hospital for post-mortem.

During interrogation, Ravindra told the police that they had entered Iyengar’s house at 8 pm on Monday without his knowledge. In the early hours of Tuesday, when Iyengar woke up and went to relieve himself, they smothered him before looting the valuables from the house.

The police said that Chandru resides behind Iyengar’s house and had noticed that real estate businessman was quite rich. He is suspected to have connived with Ravindra and hatched a plan to murder him for gain.

The Channamannakere Achchukattu police have registered a case of murder and are on the lookout for Chandru.