Day after murder of teen sisters, police arrest stepfather

Bengaluru: A day after two school-going sisters were found murdered in their Bengaluru home, police have arrested their stepfather. 

Srushti (14) and Soniya (16) were murdered at their home in Amruthahalli, Northeast Bengaluru, on Saturday evening when their mother, Anita, was away at work. 

Anita's second husband, Mohan, had been missing since Saturday afternoon and his phone was also switched off, making him the prime suspect. 

Sajeeth VJ, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast), formed three police teams to track down the suspect. 

A senior police officer monitoring the probe said that Mohan was picked up from the city's Yeshwantpur railway station around 5.30 pm on Sunday and that arrest procedures had been completed. He will be produced before the court on Monday. 

"He was trying to board a train to his hometown, but our police team were successful in tracing and arresting him before he got onto the train," the officer told DH. 

According to the officer, Mohan appeared traumatised and so, couldn't be questioned much. However, police plan to seek his custody for 10 days in order to unravel the murder mystery. 

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Anita said Mohan had lately grown suspicious about the girls and often barred them from speaking to other people. 

Police said that while it was too early to arrive at conclusions, they will consider the mother’s statement while interrogating the suspect. 

The murders took place near Amruthahalli in northeastern Bengaluru around 3.30 pm on Saturday and were reported to the police four hours later. 

The family had moved to Amruthahalli two years ago from a different area in Bengaluru. 

Anita, a native of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, had been living with Mohan for the last nine years after separating from her first husband. Mohan is from Dehradun, Uttarakhand.