Police personnel outside the store on Kumbarpet Main Road, where two senior citizens were fatally stabbed on Wednesday night, Feb 7, 2024.
Credit: DH Photo/Chetan B C
Bengaluru: Two senior citizens were fatally stabbed at a shop in central Bengaluru's Kumbarpet during the peak evening shopping hour on Wednesday, police said.
The suspected killer is said to have stood outside the shop after the twin murders and called the police control room, "confessing" to what he had done and asking them to arrest him.
A property dispute involving a trust, of which the suspect and one of his victims were members, was at the heart of the "savage" murders, according to police.
The killings sent shockwaves through the bustling business hub, plunging it into eerie silence. Shopkeepers put up the shutters and customers scooted off in no time.
Police identified the victims as Suresh (62) and Mahindra (60), both residents of Padmanabhanagar. The suspect has been identified as Madiwala resident Badriprasad, 56, a first cousin to Suresh.
Suresh ran a kitchen essentials shop called Sri Hari Marketing on Kumbarpet Main Road. He was also a social worker and volunteered for a mainstream political party. Mahindra was his close confidante and often accompanied him in public, a local resident said.
Details of the crime
Badriprasad barged into Suresh's shop around 8.15 pm when he was sitting on a revolving chair across the table. Before Suresh could react, Badriprasad lunged at him, pulled a push-button knife and launched a relentless attack on his neck. Suresh couldn't even rise from the chair, and died instantly.
Suresh's screams drew Mahindra, who had stood at the entrance of the shop. As he ran to Suresh's rescue, he was attacked by Badriprasad and was stabbed in the neck. Mahindra ran out for his life, but Badriprasad chased him down and stabbed him multiple times. Mahindra collapsed on a hand-pulled trolley and died, a police officer close to the investigation told DH.
Badriprasad then stood outside the shop and called the police. A team of officers from the Halasuru Gate police station arrived soon after and arrested Badriprasad.
Mahesh, whose paternal aunt is married to Suresh, told DH that Suresh and Badriprasad were members of a religious trust and had been engaged in a long-standing court battle over its immovable property.
Suresh's shop is located in a five-storey building on a narrow road. The dispute was related to the same building, according to police.
Manohar, a local resident, said Suresh had been the president of the Kumbara Sangha and was well regarded for his social activism. "He was liked by one and all because of his helping nature. He was also associated with a mainstream political party," Manohar said.
Suresh's son works in the Netherlands.