Police quiz dacoity suspects, stumble upon 6-yr-old murder

They had stabbed victim to death near Sandur, buried his body

The Kengeri police stumbled upon a murder case while interrogating six suspects detained in a dacoity bid case.

When the police intensified the interrogation, one of the suspects revealed that the six of them had murdered a man six years ago near Sandur in Ballari district.

The Kengeri police contacted the Sandur police for confirmation. The latter confirmed that the victim, Anjini, was murdered by unidentified men six years ago and the suspects were at large.

The Kengeri police hadbooked a case for attempting to commit dacoity against the six. They then decided to hand over the six to the Sandur police in connection with the murder case.

The suspects have been identified as Anil Kumar, 32, a resident of Sandur town in Ballari district, Santosh Naik, 25, from Telagi in Davangere district, M Rajappa, 26, from Hosakote in Hassan district, Kantharaju, 22, from Hagalwadi village in Tumakuru district and Umesh, 22, of Hosapete.

The police recovered a stolen car and two mobile phones worth Rs 8.5 lakh from the suspects.
The six became close to each other when they were kept in the Chitradurga district jail for various offences. They obtained bail and came out. They decided to stay together for committing crimes and deserted their families.

The prime suspect, Anil Kumar, had lent his associate Anjini (the victim) Rs 2.5 lakh to procure materials required for mining at Sandur.

Anjini neither procured the materials nor returned the money. The suspects took him to Hulibetta in Gajapura forest area near Kottur in Kudligi taluk.

They stabbed him to death and buried the body atop the hill, said the police.

Based on a complaint by Anjini’s wife, the Sandur police registered a case. The police had exhumed the body, but the attempts to trace the suspects failed.

Meanwhile, the suspects hired a car from Rajesh Shantaram Naik, a private taxi operator in Karwar. They went out of Karwar in the car. The gang threw him out from the vehicle and fled in his car. They used the car for committing crimes on highways.

They were also involved in thefts at the Mookambika temple in Hosapete and Ganesha temple at Aimangala village in Chitradurga district, police said. The suspects are said to be involved in more than 50 cases.