Several social media users, including some leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have given a communal spin to the murder of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a private company Vinu Kumar and its managing director (MD) Phanindra Subramanyam. The duo were allegedly killed by a former employee in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 11 June.
Following the incident, a picture of Subramanyam is being circulated with a claim that he was a "Hindu seer".
Who shared the claim?: National Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunil Deodhar (archive here) and Twitter Blue subscriber Arun Pudur (archive here), among others, shared the claim.
(Swipe right to view both claims.)
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)
What is the truth?: The victim, Subramanyam, is being misidentified as a Hindu seer and the incident is being given a false communal angle.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) North-East Laxmi Prasad confirmed to The Quint that the incident was not communal in nature.
According to several news reports and the police's preliminary investigation, the motive behind the attack was a business dispute.
Where is the picture from?: We looked for Subramanyam's social media handles and found a video uploaded on his Instagram account.
Towards the end of the video, one can see the same picture which is being shared along with the claim.
It showed Subramanyam performing rituals at the inauguration of his office.
We also found his Facebook profile where he mentioned that he worked for "Hindu Nationalist Cause" and said that he was an "Activist For Hindutva".
What did the police say?: As per Bengaluru police, two people were murdered in Pampa extension area which comes under the jurisdiction of Amruthahali police station.
The victims were identified as Phanindra Subramanyam and Vinu Kumar - owners and partners of Aeronics Media Private Limited.
The First Information Report (FIR) mentioned the names of the accused as Felix, Santhosh, and Arun Kumar.
The police said that three people have been arrested. Felix and Santhosh knew the victims and all of them used to work together with a broadband provider company named G-net.
The victims had quit G-net due to some differences and opened their own services in November 2022.
It should be noted that the specific motive behind the attack is yet to be ascertained.
The Quint reached out to DCP North-East Laxmi Prasad who confirmed that the incident had no communal angle. Prasad added that no connection to any Hindu group was found in their preliminary investigation.
No, there is no communal angle. All accused are from the same community as deceased. The victim [Phanindra Subramanyam] is not a Hindu seer.DCP North-East, Laxmi Prasad
News reports: The Quint published a report on the double murder case. According to the police, Kumar and Subramanyam worked at Aeronics Internet Company which dealt with providing internet services.
They informed The Quint that all the accused have been identified and arrested by the Bengaluru Police.
The accused were identified as Shabarish (Felix), Santosh, and Vinay Reddy and they allegedly had a business rivalry with the victim.
They further added that Kumar was killed when he tried to shield Subramanyam from the attackers.
The trio attacked Subramanyam with machetes and was killed in front of other employees present in the office.
Conclusion: A picture of Bengaluru double murder victim Phanindra Subramanyam is being shared on the internet with users insinuating a communal angle to the incident.
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