Guard stabs bank cashier to death
S Anasuya, 42, a resident of Polo Garden, 1/1, Upper Pipeline, Kumarapark West, Seshadripuram, was employed with the State Bank of Mysore, Seshadripuram branch, on Serpentine Road. Ashraf, 26, the suspect, is absconding and the motive for the murder is yet to be ascertained.
Anasuya stayed at flat 301 with her husband Krishnan, two daughters Aditi, 10, and Arathi, 8, and her mother Lakshmi.
Krishnan, a mechanical engineer in a private firm in Rajajinagar, had left for a relative’s house in Mysore, along with his daughters, on Thursday.
Lakshmi was alone in the house after Anasuya left for the bank on Friday morning.
Anasuya returned to the apartment for lunch at around 1:40 pm. Security guard Ashraf, who was seated on a chair opposite the lift, barged into the elevator along with Anasuya, and within seconds, a neighbour heard her crying for help.
The lift immediately returned to the ground floor where a woman was waiting. The moment the door of the elevator opened, Ashraf pushed down Anasuya at the entrance of the lift, threatened the waiting woman at knifepoint, and rushed out. But he returned in a moment, threw the knife inside the lift, and walked out of the apartment.
Neighbours’ accounts
Aravind, a neighbour, narrated the incident to Deccan Herald: “I heard a woman crying for help inside the lift. I thought she was stuck in there because of power failure. I ran downstairs to see what had happened. I was shocked to see her lying in a pool of blood. There was blood splattered on the mirror inside the lift as well. It took some time for me to understand what had happened.”
Another neighbour, Raghottam, said he was entering the apartment when he saw Ashraf walking out.
“Ashraf was totally calm and smiling. He waved his hands, wished me and went out. Moments later, I came to know about the murder. I would have caught him had I known he had committed this heinous crime,” he added.
Police presence
Slain corporator S Nataraj’s residence is the third from Polo Garden. Two policemen were deployed to guard his house, but they came to know about the murder only after the local police arrived. One of the guards said he was unaware of the murder till the police came as he was sitting inside the compound.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime East Division) N Dayanand said it was not a murder for gain, as all the valuables on Anasuya’s person were intact. “We are collecting details about Ashraf’s background and will arrest him soon,” Dayanand said.