The Jnanabharati police have arrested a gang of three who had abducted and murdered a salesman after extorting a ransom of ₹5 lakh from his family. After getting the ransom, the gang had abducted another person in a case of mistaken identity and demanded ransom. However, the victim fled their custody, alerting the police about the gang.
The prime accused, who is a mechanic, was desperately in need of money for the New Year party and planned to kidnap his neighbour who used to help him with loans and also used to get his bike serviced from the accused garage, S. Girish, DCP, West Division, said.
The accused, identified as Sanjay, Anand, Thimma and Hanumantha, had abducted Gurusiddappa, a salesman of a private firm, on December 30 and called from his mobile phone to get the money. The wife was not aware of the kidnap, and since Gurusiddappa had called her to get the money, she followed the instructions and paid the ransom.
The accused went to a forest area near Manchinabele dam and partied and decided to kill Gurusiddappa to conceal their identity. They stabbed Gurusiddappa killing him on the spot, dumped the body in the forest area and fled from the scene. When Gurusiddappa did not return home, his wife filed a missing complaint with the police the next day.
Meanwhile, the accused abducted another man, Kishan, an employee of an interior decoration firm, mistaking him as the firm’s owner for ransom. The accused later realised the mistake, and they called the owner, informing him about the kidnap and demanded money. The owner told them that he was in Kundapura, for which the accused went to Kundapura to collect the ransom.
After reaching Kundapura, the accused realised that the owner had returned to Bengaluru and decided to return to the city. But on the way, when they stopped the car for a break, the victim managed to escape. Even though the accused chased and attacked him with a knife, he managed to give a slip. With the help of a few people, he reached Bengaluru and complained to the police.
The police swung into action after realising that the accused were also involved in the other missing case. The accused, meanwhile, went to Goa to party with the money and visited many places before returning to Bengaluru when they were arrested.
Based on their information, the police went to the forest area and found the body of Gurusiddappa was mutilated by wild animals and recovered the remains of the body. The accused have been booked for kidnap in two cases and a murder, and are investigating the matter further. The police are also on the lookout for the fourth accused who is on the run.