Bengaluru: Karnataka capital Bengaluru has reported the highest number of ‘revenge killings’ for the third consecutive year in 2019.
The latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released earlier this week showed that the IT hub reported 106 revenge murders last year. National capital Delhi stands a close second with 87 such murders.
In 2017, Bengaluru reported 110 revenge murders, while the number was 104 in 2018, NCRB data showed.
Bengaluru police officers told ThePrint that revenge murders are easy to crack as suspects leave major clues behind, but they are extremely difficult to prevent.
A Cambridge University student allegedly plotting a gangster’s murder, a teenager ‘killing’ her father to get back her freedom, a brutal double murder and a man allegedly hacking to death his estranged wife’s former lover — here is a list of some of the sensational revenge murder cases of 2019 triggered by love, lust, hatred and deceit.
How JD(S) leader’s daughter ‘planned murder of gangster’
Varshini Harish, the 21-year-old daughter of a JD(S) leader pursuing masters from Cambridge University in London, allegedly plotted the killing of one of the local gangsters of Bengaluru, Lakshmana.
Lakshmana knew Varshini from her childhood as he had close ties with her father Harish Sanjeevappa, and years later, fell in love with her, according to police.
Varshini, however, fell for a local goonda, Roopesh, the police said, adding that her parents didn’t approve of the relationship and sought Lakshmana’s help to separate Varshini from Roopesh. But Varshini had other plans.
Varshini and Roopesh then allegedly decided to eliminate Lakshmana as they knew if the latter is alive, he wouldn’t let them get married, the police said.
Roopesh then allegedly asked Varshini to keep in touch with Lakshmana and pretend she was falling for him. Roopesh hired a contract killer, ‘Cat’ Raja, who was looking to take revenge against Lakshmana for killing one of his aides, Maccha Manja, according to the police.
On 7 March, Varshini asked Lakshmana to book a hotel for her in Bengaluru, claiming she was returning to the city, said the police, adding that she also shared Lakshmana’s locations with Roopesh, who then shared it with the contract killers.
When Lakshmana reached the hotel, the assailants hacked him to death.
Varshini was arrested on 13 March. Four others, including ‘Cat’ Raja and Roopesh, were arrested later.
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Teen ‘killed father with help from boyfriend’
In August last year, a 15-year-old girl confessed to killing her father at their Rajajinagar home as he “curtailed her freedom”. The teenager told the police she was beaten with a belt by her 41-year-old father for dating a boy, and was even prevented from using her mobile phone.
The teenager confessed to having stabbed her father and then setting him ablaze.
The police found that she was given a phone by her “boyfriend” and they would secretly communicate with each other. But soon they began plotting to avenge the harassment by her father, the police said.
On 23 August, the girl allegedly spiked her father’s milk with sleeping pills and when he passed out, she called her boyfriend to the house.
After slapping her father repeatedly to check if he was awake, the duo stabbed him to death, the police said. Both confessed to the crime, according to the police.
While the teenager was sent to a juvenile home, her 18-year-old boyfriend was arrested.
Avenging a brother’s death
On 27 August last year, Bengaluru woke up to a brutal double murder. Victims Tamma Manja and Varun Reddy were wanted criminals, according to the police.
The police said Manja was involved in the murder of another history-sheeter Raghavendra alias Tablet Raghu in 2017, and therefore Raghavendra’s brother Narendra wanted to take revenge.
Manja had been arrested in connection with the Raghavendra’s murder, but was released on bail. After tracking Manja for a few days, Narendra’s gang attacked him and Reddy.
Reddy was not involved in Raghavendra’s killing, but had to pay the price because he was with Manja, the police said.
Two accused, including Nagendra, were arrested on 28 August, while a hunt for four other suspects is still on.
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Estranged husband held for murder of wife’s former lover
In October, Thimmegowda, an auto driver, made 25 calls to his “missing” girlfriend’s estranged husband, asking him to send her back to him. This infuriated the husband, Manikanta, who himself had no idea where his wife, identified as Ramya, was, according to the police.
After 25 calls, an enraged Manikanta decided to “eliminate” Thimmegowda, the police said. On 14 October, he called Thimmegowda to a secluded spot on the pretext of discussing his girlfriend’s whereabouts and then he allegedly hacked him to death, according to the police.
Manikanta was arrested on 18 October.
The police said both men did not know that Ramya was living with a friend near Ullal in Mangalore.
A murder planned over six months
A Jharkhand native, Devenath Hembram, allegedly plotted the murder of his wife’s alleged lover over six months.
Hembram, who was working in Bengaluru, suspected that his wife was having an illicit relationship with one Tarun Kumar Ghosh, a native of West Bengal. When his wife refused to return to his village in Jharkhand with their three-year-old son, he hatched a plan to murder Ghosh, according to the police.
Ghosh used to work in a private firm. Two days before the murder, Hembram bought a knife. On 29 November, Hembram tracked Ghosh’s movements and stabbed him to death when he was on his way to work for the night shift.
Hembram ran away with his phone to make it look like a robbery. As investigations progressed, the police found there were links to a woman, which led them to Hembram.
The police arrested Hembram on 30 November.
The accused told the police he was blinded with fury when his son spoke about an “uncle who would visit his wife during Hembram’s absence”.
Most revenge murders due to disputes over women, land
A senior police officer, who has probed several such revenge murders in Bengaluru, told ThePrint such killings have a pattern. They are mostly incited due to disputes over women, land or wealth, he added.
“Murders due to personal vendetta or revenge crimes are easy to crack, but also difficult to prevent. Many of these cases are to avenge a family member’s killing or spurned love. Most of the time, they leave major clues behind,” said the officer, who didn’t want to be named.
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