<p>Four men — three car mechanics and an air conditioner technician — have been arrested for the October 16 murder of RSS worker R Rudresh, 38. Police suspect a combination of personal and political rivalry behind the killing. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The Bengaluru police, who were under pressure from the BJP to crack the case, said they made the arrests on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Contrary to what was known earlier, there were at least four men who carried out the killing. While two men riding a motorbike waylaid Rudresh on Kamaraj Road and one of them hacked him to death with a machete, two others on another motorcycle provided them cover. <br /><br />Speaking to DH, Bengaluru Police Commissioner N S Megharikh said Mohammed Sadiq alias Mohammed Mazhar, 35, a resident of JC Nagar, and Waseem Ahmad, 30, from Austin Town, were those who had stopped Rudresh. Sadiq rode the motorbike while Ahmed was on the pillion and hacked Rudresh to death. <br /><br />Mohammed Mujeebullah alias Mollah, 44, a resident of RT Nagar, and Irfan Pasha, 30, from Govindapura, were on another two-wheeler a little ahead to provide cover, Megharikh said. Mujeebullah and Pasha spotted Rudresh and motioned to Mazhar and Ahmad to strike. <br /><br />Mazhar, Mujeebullah and Ahmad, who are all car mechanics, were picked up from their homes on Wednesday night while Pasha, an air conditioner technician, was apprehended on Thursday morning, Megharikh said. <br /><br />According to the police commissioner, the suspects had planned the murder “meticulously” and were shadowing Rudresh for long. They knew the places he visited regularly. They also knew that he would attend the RSS ‘Patha Sanchalana’ on October 16 and decided that it was the right time to strike. <br /><br />“It looked like the handiwork of a professional but at the same time, our investigation found that local people were involved,” he said. <br /><br />Police checked the CCTV footage and studied the description given by Rudresh’s friend, who witnessed the murder. Investigators also got tip-offs from informants. But the most vital clue was provided by a cop attached to the Commercial Street police station. In the CCTV footage, one of the suspects is seen walking with a limp. The policeman said he knew a man who walks in a similar fashion. Police zeroed in on Mujeebullah whose walking style matched that of the person in the CCTV footage. <br /><br />A senior police officer, who was involved in the investigation, said that the CCTV footage was not clear. “The assailants had masked their faces. The footage was developed and we found it to be similar to the account given by Rudresh’s friend. Based on that, we prepared a sketch of the assailants,” the officer said, requesting anonymity. <br /><br />The next task was to question people who had disagreements with Rudresh. “Some of them gave us the names of possible suspects. The four were among them. We picked them up and they spilled the beans,” the officer added. When asked if the suspects were associated with any organisation and what was the motive for the murder, the officer said, “We are investigating if they are members of any particular organisation. We suspect that they attended the meetings organised by certain organisations, but we are yet to confirm this.” <br /><br />The suspects will be produced before the jurisdictional magistrate and police will seek their custody. <br /><br />“We’ll interrogate them in detail. We are also checking if they have a criminal record,” the officer said. Police suspect that more people are involved in the murder and further arrests are likely. <br /></p>
<p>Four men — three car mechanics and an air conditioner technician — have been arrested for the October 16 murder of RSS worker R Rudresh, 38. Police suspect a combination of personal and political rivalry behind the killing. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The Bengaluru police, who were under pressure from the BJP to crack the case, said they made the arrests on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Contrary to what was known earlier, there were at least four men who carried out the killing. While two men riding a motorbike waylaid Rudresh on Kamaraj Road and one of them hacked him to death with a machete, two others on another motorcycle provided them cover. <br /><br />Speaking to DH, Bengaluru Police Commissioner N S Megharikh said Mohammed Sadiq alias Mohammed Mazhar, 35, a resident of JC Nagar, and Waseem Ahmad, 30, from Austin Town, were those who had stopped Rudresh. Sadiq rode the motorbike while Ahmed was on the pillion and hacked Rudresh to death. <br /><br />Mohammed Mujeebullah alias Mollah, 44, a resident of RT Nagar, and Irfan Pasha, 30, from Govindapura, were on another two-wheeler a little ahead to provide cover, Megharikh said. Mujeebullah and Pasha spotted Rudresh and motioned to Mazhar and Ahmad to strike. <br /><br />Mazhar, Mujeebullah and Ahmad, who are all car mechanics, were picked up from their homes on Wednesday night while Pasha, an air conditioner technician, was apprehended on Thursday morning, Megharikh said. <br /><br />According to the police commissioner, the suspects had planned the murder “meticulously” and were shadowing Rudresh for long. They knew the places he visited regularly. They also knew that he would attend the RSS ‘Patha Sanchalana’ on October 16 and decided that it was the right time to strike. <br /><br />“It looked like the handiwork of a professional but at the same time, our investigation found that local people were involved,” he said. <br /><br />Police checked the CCTV footage and studied the description given by Rudresh’s friend, who witnessed the murder. Investigators also got tip-offs from informants. But the most vital clue was provided by a cop attached to the Commercial Street police station. In the CCTV footage, one of the suspects is seen walking with a limp. The policeman said he knew a man who walks in a similar fashion. Police zeroed in on Mujeebullah whose walking style matched that of the person in the CCTV footage. <br /><br />A senior police officer, who was involved in the investigation, said that the CCTV footage was not clear. “The assailants had masked their faces. The footage was developed and we found it to be similar to the account given by Rudresh’s friend. Based on that, we prepared a sketch of the assailants,” the officer said, requesting anonymity. <br /><br />The next task was to question people who had disagreements with Rudresh. “Some of them gave us the names of possible suspects. The four were among them. We picked them up and they spilled the beans,” the officer added. When asked if the suspects were associated with any organisation and what was the motive for the murder, the officer said, “We are investigating if they are members of any particular organisation. We suspect that they attended the meetings organised by certain organisations, but we are yet to confirm this.” <br /><br />The suspects will be produced before the jurisdictional magistrate and police will seek their custody. <br /><br />“We’ll interrogate them in detail. We are also checking if they have a criminal record,” the officer said. Police suspect that more people are involved in the murder and further arrests are likely. <br /></p>
