Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal

Bantwal, Apr 1: Three of the accused in the murder of auto driver Rajesh, which took place on March 21 near Kalpane, B C Road, have been arrested by the police.

The arrested are Imran, Irshad and Hussain, all residents of Demmale in Mallur. A bike and two weapons used to commit the crime have been recovered from them. 

Rajesh

Two other accused - Altaf and Isaac, said to be the masterminds behind the murder - are absconding and search for the duo is on.

Sources revealed that the fact that one of the accused had a mole on his face turned out to be a vital clue that helped the police.

Hussain is the person with the mole and after he was interrogated, his involvement in the crime came to light. The other two were nabbed based on the information provided by him.

It is suspected that there are many others involved in the crime whose identities are yet to be divulged. All the accused are in the age group 21 to 23 and are first time offenders.

Among the three arrested, two have been remanded in judicial custody. Irshad has been handed over to police custody for further interrogation.

Rajesh was said to be prime accused in the murder of Iqbal, a resident of Bantwal Kelaginapete, who had been hacked to death in Goremaar rubber estate in Pacchinadka in 2008. Investigation has revealed that the murder of Rajesh was in retaliation to the murder of Iqbal.

Rajesh had earlier worked as a bus agent. From about a year before the murder, he started working as an auto driver. On that fateful Friday morning, as he parked his auto at the Benjanapadavu Kalpane auto park, three miscreants who came on a bike, attacked Rajesh with lethal weapons and escaped from the scene. Locals rushed him to the hospital where he breathed his last.

The culprits had not left any clues and the investigation was getting tougher with each passing day. Hindu organizations had urged the police department and warned of calling for a taluk bandh if the culprits were not apprehended at the earliest.

A special team led by Beltangady CI Lingappa Poojary was formed by the district SP Dr Sharanappa to investigate the murder. The team has been successful in apprehending three of the accused within 10 days.