Bengaluru: It took a police team searching dozens of shanties in South Bengaluru to arrest a 26-year-old man suspected of murdering two people in five days.
The Banashankari police on Sunday announced the arrest of Girish M for murdering two people between May 13 and 18 on footpaths by smashing their heads with a stone.
On May 13, a man in his 20s was found in a pool of blood on the footpath of KR Road, with his face disfigured and head smashed. Police found a stone slightly larger than a fist next to the body. The scene-of-crime officers concluded it to be the murder weapon.
On May 19, the KR Market police found a man in his 30s murdered near an old building close to the north gate of the market. The killer had smashed the victim’s head with a boulder.
In both incidents, the police opened a murder case and launched a probe.
The Banashankari police achieved a breakthrough when they chanced upon a glimpse of Girish in CCTV footage retrieved from a camera near KR Road. The footage, spanning less than five seconds, showed the suspect's face. Matching it with the criminal database helped the police conclude that it was Girish.
Eventually, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Lokesh B Jagalasar, formed a team to trace him. "Our team did a good job of pinning down the suspect after gathering leads. He was arrested on May 20,” the DCP told DH.
Intense questioning revealed that Girish was the one behind the KR Market murder that occurred just two days before his arrest.
Motive behind murders
"He is a drug and alcohol addict who lives on the streets alone. He committed both murders under the influence of alcohol,” an investigating officer told DH, adding that he stole valuables from the victims after killing them.
The investigator said Girish was completely sloshed and carried out the murders to get money to spend on alcohol and drugs. They believe that if making a quick buck by killing people had reinforced Girish, he may have gone on a killing spree.
In the first murder, the suspect allegedly chased the victim for about 500 metres before finally downing him and smashing his face relentlessly with a stone.
Habitual offender
However, this is not the first time Girish has been arrested by the police.
He is a habitual offender and committed his first crime when he was 17 years old.
He has about four cases against him in the Subramanyapura and Banashankari police stations, including criminal intimidation, assault, sexual harassment, and robbery.
In 2020, he served 10 months of imprisonment in an assault case.
After coming out, Girish worked as a helper at hotels, construction laborer, helper at markets, and so on. However, he was also involved in robbing people when he was in need of money.