Bengaluru: The Jnanabharati police have arrested a group of six friends on charges of kidnapping 19-year-old Sharath, son of an Income Tax officer, on September 12 for a random of Rs 50 lakh and strangulating him to death the same day after Sharath’s father filed a police complaint.
The police have identified the accused as Vishal HP alias Vishu, 21, Vinay Prasad alias Vikky alias Vinu, 24, Shanthakumar alias Shantha (absconding), Karan Pai alias Karna, 22, and Vinodkumar, 24.
According to the police, the prime accused, Vishal, is the classmate of Sharath’s sister. He called her on the pretext of inquiring about Sharath’s kidnapping and she told him that her father had gone to the police to file a complaint.
Fearing that he would be caught, Vishal decided to kill Sharath. Along with his associates, he strangulated Sharath and dumped his body in a lake on the outskirts of the city. The accused later returned home. He even visited Sharath’s house to learn about the police investigation.
Two days later, the accused again went to the lake and found Sharath’s body floating. He retrieved the body and took it to an isolated place in a car and buried it.
Vishal’s name came up during the course of investigations and police brought him for questioning. A detailed inquiry led him to confess to the crime, the police said.
He confessed that he had borrowed Rs 4 lakh loan and had kidnapped Sharath for ransom, through which he planned to repay his dues.
On September 12, Sharath had taken his new motorcycle for a ride. But later in the day he sent a WhatsApp message to his parents from his mobile phone saying that he had been kidnapped. He requested his parents to pay the ransom to get his release. He also requested his father not to inform police as the kidnappers would kill him and his sister.
