Handibag case: CID sleuths complete first level probe

Suspects summoned to head office for another round of enquiry

After a week-long investigation into the kidnap case involving DySP Kallappa Handibag, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) personnel on Tuesday returned to Bengaluru.

The investigators, who are learnt to have completed the first stage of probe, have summoned three persons including the complainant to the head office for another round of enquiry on July 13.

A source said, along with Tejas who was kidnapped and released on June 28, the investigators have also summoned his friend Shivu who had arranged Rs 10 lakh ransom amount and his another friend Pawan who had handed over the ransom to DySP in question.

The investigators, who collected sufficient evidence during their stay, have also seized cellphones of Tejas, Shivu, Datta (Shivu’s elder brother), Pawan, Mahesh (who had loaned a part of ransom amount to Shivu) and Kalmane Nataraj, one of the key suspects in the case. They are expected to verify call detail records, besides voice record of the afore mentioned persons and accused as recorded on their cellphones recorder app.

The investigation is also expected to vet cricket betting, money lending and chit fund details, as alluded at by the ADGP of CID Prathap Reddy earlier.

Map work

On the other hand, the District Crime Record Bureau (DCRB) personnel have started to work on mapping those places connected with kidnap incident. The personnel attached to Public Works Department (PWD) were seen assisting the police by marking the land among other related works, on Tuesday evening.

The case

Kallappa committed suicide at his in law’s house in Belagavi on last Tuesday, after his name surfaced in a kidnap case. He was facing charges of scripting kidnap of Tejas and collecting ransom amount later.

It came to light after Tejas complained to SP K Santhosh Babu, who after an internal inquiry, ordered filing a case against Kallappa.