College girl murdered in Malleswaram | Cops arrest duo, suspect had created WhatsApp group to stalk victim

Bengaluru: Police have cracked the brutal murder of a college girl in Malleswaram by arresting two men, including a neighbour who had stalked her for days. 

Srirampura police on Friday announced the arrest of Vignesh alias Sanjay, 26, a habitual offender, and his friend Harish, 30 a daily wage worker. They were arrested from Soladevanahalli in northwestern Bengaluru. 

Police are preparing to produce both of them before the court to seek their custody for interrogation.

Yamini Priya, 20, was accosted and stabbed to death while returning home from college near Mantri Sampige Square mall in Malleswaram in broad daylight on Thursday. She was a BPharma student at a private college in Banasahankari. 

Citing investigations, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) B S Nemagouda said Vignesh had been coercing Yamini to marry him but she had repeatedly rejected his advances. Enraged, he allegedly plotted to kill her with Harish's help. The men bought a knife from a local shop, the officer added. 

According to the officer, Harish had assisted Vignesh in reaching the spot on a motorbike and sat on the two-wheeler, waiting for him to "finish the job". He later sheltered him near a college in Soladevanahalli. 

Police have seized the two-wheeler allegedly used in the crime. 

Police investigations revealed that Vignesh had even created a WhatsApp group named 'Mission Yamini Priya' to monitor her movements. He had reportedly added five of his friends to the group to gather updates about her whereabouts, a senior police officer said. 

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Yamini’s mother Varalakshmi demanded that the suspect be killed in an encounter, noting her daughter was murdered mercilessly. 

The body was cremated after a post-mortem examination at Victoria Hospital. 

LoP flags 'rising' crimes against women

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka on Friday wrote to the National the Commission for Women (NCW) to seek its intervention on "rising" crimes against women and minors and the "deteriorating" law and order in Karnataka. 

Citing official data and media reports, he claimed that 979 cases of sexual assault and atrocity against minors had been reported in the last four months across Karnataka, with Bengaluru alone accounting for over 114 such cases.