Eight days after 19-year-old Sharath Niranjan, son of an Income Tax Department officer, was kidnapped, his decomposed body was recovered from a quarry in Ajjenahalli in Ramanagaram district, more than 50 kms away from the city.
Four people, including a childhood friend of Sharath, has been arrested for the murder. The confessions of the main suspect, in the case Vishal, have revealed chilling details about the murder.
The Kidnap
The kidnap came to light after Sharath’s father and sister received a WhatsApp video on 12 September. In the video, Sharath said that some people irked by his father’s work had kidnapped him. “They are demanding Rs 50 lakh. They will call you tomorrow. They have been torturing me and I will be with them. You please pay the ransom,” Sharath said in the video.
The family panicked and approached police.
A Family Friend’s Betrayal
The kidnapper, Vishal, was a childhood friend of Sharath’s and he was known to the family as well. Using this proximity to the family, hours after sending the WhatsApp video, Vishal called Sharath’s sister. He told her that he learnt about the kidnap from the media and asked her what her family was doing about it.
Not realising that Vishal was the kidnaper, his sister told him that the family will be approaching the police soon.
Another Video
Then the kidnappers made Sharath send another video, where he was made to ask the family not to approach the police. “Please don’t complaint to the police, they are very dangerous and they are wielding weapons. If a complaint is registered, my family will be in trouble,” he said in the video.
In the second video, Sharath also said that the kidnappers were tracking his family. He said that they are aware of the daily routine of the family and they have been watching his sister, who will be their next target.
As these ransom demands were being made, the gang kept Sharath in their car and moved around in the city. However, on realising that the family would not pay the ransom and the police will be after them soon, they strangulated Sharath.
During the confession, Vishal said that although they initially wanted to let him go, but fearing that Sharath would identify them, they murdered him using a nylon rope.
After killing Sharath, the gang tied boulders to Sharath’s body and dumped it in Narasimhaaiah lake in Ramohalli.
Helpful Hands
After dumping Sharath’s body, Vishal went to Sharath’s house to console the family. T Suneel Kumar, city police commissioner, said that investigators had seen Vishal, as he was along with the family and even helped the family during the police investigation.
He even gave police a statement and stayed with the family, consoling them. According police, during this time he was trying to keep tabs on what the police and family were up to.
Keeping Tabs on the Corpse
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While the police were looking for the kidnapped boy, Vishal and friends were keeping an eye on the lake to ensure that the body didn’t float to the surface. “Vishal and his men checked the lake regularly. When the body floated a few days later, they tied more boulders to it and dumped it again,” said T Suneel Kumar.
However, within a few more days, the body floated up once again. “This time, instead of putting the body in the lake again, they took it out. They put the decomposed body inside car and drove around for a day, before zeroing in on an abandoned quarry where they buried it,” he added.
Caught With Call Records
Talking about the investigation, Suneel Kumar said that while going through the mobile phones at crime scenes and home, police came across some suspicious numbers. “This process pointed the finger at Vishal and we took him in for questioning. During questioning, he confessed to the crime,” he added.
Based on his information, three more men have been arrested and a manhunt for another suspect is underway.
Anything for a Quick Buck
The motive behind the murder was to earn some quick bucks, said police. Vishal, along with friends, had been planning to kidnap someone for money and Vishal suggested Sharath because he knew his father was an I-T officer, and assumed the family could afford to pay a big ransom.
Vishal knew Sharath had a craze for motorcycles. A day before the murder, he called Sharath saying that he could give him a test ride of an imported motorcycle. When he came to see the bikes, they abducted him in their car.
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