Habitual robber behind gay man's murder in KR Market: cops

 The murder of a 35-year-old homosexual man in KR Market, central Bengaluru, on the night of April 11 was reportedly committed by a habitual offender out to mug people. The victim was looking for a gay friend when the suspect ran into him.

B N Muralidhar was waiting outside a public toilet on the first floor of KR Market, hoping to have a sexual romp with a man he had befriended on a gay dating app.

Rasool (23), a habitual offender from Kaggalipura, Kanakapura Road, spotted him. He had come to the toilet to relieve himself. Muralidhar smiled at him, assuming that he was the gay friend. Rasool reciprocated the gesture and got close to him. Muralidhar asked if they could have sex. Rasool saw the offer as a real godsend and nodded in agreement, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) M N Anucheth said.

Muralidhar took Rasool to the western gate of Tools Bazaar and tried to hug him but the latter kept him at bay. Then in a menacing tone, Rasool asked him to part with his mobile phone, cash and other valuables. Muralidhar refused and Rasool attacked him with a knife. Muralidhar took to his heels but Rasool chased him down and stabbed him several times. He then snatched Rs 350 in cash from Muralidhar but failed to take away the phone as the victim kept screaming.

The suspect then fled the spot, washed the knife at a water tap and threw it away at Tools Bazaar. He later went to a bar in Kalasipalya and threw his bloodstained clothes in a furnace, the officer said.

Muralidhar was a native of Basavapattana village in Hassan district and had moved to Bengaluru to prepare for competitive examinations. He was residing at Panchasheela Nagar in Moodalapalya. He had lost his parents as well as a brother. He was living off the rent from three houses and 16-gunta farmland.

Police investigation into the murder didn’t make much headway initially. The first lead came when police accidentally discovered the gay dating app. They picked up 12-13 people who were on Muralidhar’s contact list and found out that all of them are homosexuals and that they had invited him for the Bengaluru Karaga festival that night. The men told police that Muralidhar was a homosexual, too.

Police surmised that the crime was the fallout of a brawl or a financial dispute born out of a sex deal that went awry. But the suspect remained at large.

Meanwhile, Rasool, in an inebriated state, opened up to fellow habitual offenders about his meeting with Muralidhar. The story spread quickly and police got to know of it when they picked up a few habitual offenders for questioning. One of them mentioned Rasool’s claims. Police reviewed the CCTV footage and saw Rasool moving near KR Market. They picked him up and he spilled the beans, the DCP said.