CCTV footage helps cops crack security guard's murder

The Indiranagar police arrested six people in connection with the murder of a security guard of a private firm in Domlur on March 26.

Those arrested are Manjunath, Raju and Balamurgan all residents of Srirampuram, Prathibaraj alias Prithviraj, from Chennai, Vijay from Seshadripuram and Ravichandran from Binnypet. Arun and Suresh are absconding. They had choked Ramcharita Mukhia, 50, a security guard at Actis Technology Pvt Ltd, to death.

Manjunath, an employee of the company, noticed that there was a huge quantity of electronic items like LCD TVs, projectors and other gadgets in the office. He and his friends, Raju and Vijay, decided to loot the goods and sell them for a huge sum. They also roped in other friends to commit the crime, police said.

Died on the spot

On March 26, while they were trying to make away with items after breaking into the office, Mukhia, who was sleeping inside, woke up. He switched on the lights and found the gang taking away the items. He tried to stop them but they tied his hands and legs and stuffed a cloth in his mouth to ensure he did not raise an alarm. But Mukhia could not breathe and died on the spot, police said.

Manjunath and his friend, who got scared after Mukhia died, left a few goods on the road and fled, in a bid to make it look like someone had tried to loot the office. The incident came to light when an employee came to office the following day and found Mukhia dead. He then informed the police.

CCTV footage

“The police, who began the investigation, examined the CCTV footage from buildings nearby and found an autorickshaw parked in front of the office. They noted down the vehicle registration number and obtained details of the owner through RTO. They found that the vehicle belonged to one Ravichandran.

The police went looking for him but he was absconding. They analysed his call records and noticed that he had made and received several calls from Manjunath. Later, police arrested Ravichandran, who confessed to having committed the crime. Based on his information, the rest of them were arrested. Manjunath thought he could get away and came to the office and went about his work without letting anyone suspect his role in the death,” said a senior police officer.