The accused Indushekhar (left) is the editor and publisher of local Kannada-English monthly newspaper ‘Tana Varadi’ in Bengaluru. He is also a cab driver.
Bengaluru 7 murders: How a crime newspaper editor carried out horror killings
Police say the accused loaded the bodies into his car and dumped them at various spots around Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapur district to destroy evidence
He spent his days chronicling other people’s crimes. Now police say Indushekhar committed one of Bengaluru’s most horrifying murders in recent times.
Indushekhar is the editor and publisher of Taana Varadi (Station Report), a local Kannada-English monthly crime newspaper. He also drives a cab. In Bengaluru’s Rajajinagar area, a domestic dispute allegedly turned into a massacre, with him allegedly murdering seven members of his family, including his wife.
Accused took 17-year-old daughter's help?
According to the police investigation, the killings were only the beginning. The same car he drove for a living was allegedly used to carry the bodies away. He is accused of dumping them at various locations around Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapur district, hoping to destroy the evidence.
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The police have now arrested Indushekhar, and the investigation is in full swing. The body of a seven-year-old boy has been recovered, while an intensive search operation is underway to locate the remaining six bodies.
During questioning, Indushekhar told police that he allegedly took the help of his 17-year-old daughter in the killings and disposing of bodies.
A missing person complaint uncovers a horrific crime
The mass murder came to light following a missing person complaint. Nalini, a family member, had gone missing, prompting her mother to file a complaint at the Srirampura Police Station.
The accused person's home in Bengaluru. Photo: Raghu RD
After registering the case, police launched an investigation and questioned Indushekhar. During questioning, investigators noticed several inconsistencies in his statements. Suspicious of his behaviour, the police searched his house and found several crucial clues.
Following sustained interrogation, the accused reportedly confessed to murdering all seven people, according to police sources.
Killed victims with a grinding stone
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused did not murder all the victims at once. Instead, he allegedly carried out the killings systematically by inviting family members to his house one at a time. He first allegedly bludgeoned his wife to death using a grinding stone inside the house. He then misled others by claiming that she had gone on a trip with her friends.
Later, under the pretext of having drinks together, he invited his wife's brothers, Shivakumar and Shankar, to the house and allegedly murdered them.
Following the same pattern, he also killed other family members, including Divya, Nalini, his mother-in-law Roopavathi, and seven-year-old Puneeth. It is not clear how Divya and Nalini are related to the accused.
After the murders, the accused allegedly cleaned the bloodstains inside the house and washed the grinding stone used in the crime in an attempt to destroy evidence, as revealed during interrogation.
Bodies dumped in isolated areas at foothills of Nandi Hills
After carrying out the murders at his residence, the accused allegedly chose the Nandi Hills route to dispose of the bodies. He transported the bodies in his own car and dumped them at various isolated locations around Nandi Hills.
Based on the accused's statements, police took him to the locations and launched a search operation. After nearly four hours of searching, the body of seven-year-old Puneeth was recovered. The search for the remaining six bodies is still underway. The car allegedly used to transport the bodies has already been seized by the police.
Did two decades of marital discord lead to murders?
According to preliminary reports, Indushekhar and his wife had experienced ongoing marital disputes throughout their 20-year marriage. The accused was reportedly unhappy with his wife's close relationship with her parental family. He also allegedly resented what he perceived as excessive interference by his mother-in-law and brothers-in-law in the couple's personal matters.
'Press' and 'Police Voice' sticker pasted outside the accuseds home. Photo: Raghu RD
These issues reportedly led to frequent arguments between the couple. Police suspect that this resentment may have driven the accused to allegedly decide to eliminate the entire family.
Challenges before the police
Although the accused is currently in police custody, investigators still face several challenges: post-mortem examinations, the exact time of death, and whether the murders took place on a single day or over several days will need to be established through forensic reports.
Although the bloodstains inside the house were allegedly wiped clean, biological samples collected by Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) experts could provide crucial evidence.
In addition, police are collecting CCTV footage from locations along the route between Rajajinagar and Chikkaballapur, along with the accused's mobile phone call records, to establish the sequence of events and gather further evidence.
(This article was originally published in The Federal Karnataka)
