Daijiworld Media Network – Tumkur (SP)

Tumkur, Apr 19: A special investigation team of the district police, formed to investigate the murder cases of 11 women in the district and elsewhere last year, has succeeded in finding out the culprits and arresting them. Inspector general of police (IGP), Kamal Pant, announced a reward of Rs 75,000 to the team for this feat.

Addressing a press conference held at the hall of the district superintendent of police (SP) on Monday April 18, Pant said that rural police sub inspector, Siddaraju, had been appointed to follow up a number of murder cases that occurred within Tumkur Rural circle limits, but went undetected.

After finding that the features of one of the murdered women tallied with a woman about whom a missing complaint had been filed in Sanjaynagar Bangalore police station, the team met the woman’s husband, Gopalakrishna, and pooled details from him. During the investigation, names of Prema, Raghavendra, and Sundaresh, came up.  The team then traced Raghavendra and Prema, who were in hiding at Shimoga, and culled out horrid details relating to 11 women murdered by the gang, the IGP explained. Three of these murders had occurred within the district, while the others were committed in other districts.

Prema, who was the main brain behind the killing, is a native of Tenkabail in Teerthahalli, Shimoga. She married a person named Hasavaraju 21 years back. As her husband’s income was meagre, Prema started brewing illicit liquor at home. Later, fed up over husband’s harassment, she came to Bangalore and worked in a garment factory. During one of her visits to Shimoga, she came in contact with a person name Pradip from Kerala in  a bus. She married him later, and stayed in a rented home in Sultan Palya, he explained.

Pradip had connections with prostitutes and worked as a pimp to introduce girls to men from Kerala. Soon, their rented house turned into a brothel, and this business was continued in more rented houses later. Prema and Pradip separated due to differences over finances. Prema came in contact with Sundaresh, working in Jindal Company. Sundaresh left his job, and started assisting Prema in her brothel business. Raghavendra, nephew of Prema, also started helping Prema in this activity. The gang made lot of money through this, but greed for gold and cash made them to seek more money through murder of prostitutes, the IGP said. The policemen are on the lookout for Sundaresh, a native of Tudaki village in Teerthahalli taluk, who is absconding.

The team was given Rs 25,000 as reward on behalf of the district SP, and Rs 50,000 on behalf of IG Bangalore. An amount of Rs 25,000 was handed over to the team on the spot.

District SP, T R Suresh, and additional SP, Shiv Shankar, were present at the press conference.