7 murders, one miraculous escape: 10-year-old Karnataka boy travels with uncle carrying parents’ bodies in car
Bengaluru: In a chilling turn in the case involving the alleged murder of seven members of his wife’s family by Indushekar, a 10-year-old boy narrowly escaped death after his uncle, who is the murder accused, took him along in a car carrying the bodies of his parents stuffed inside gunny bags.
Unaware that his parents were dead and that the bags in the car contained their bodies, the boy travelled with the accused, who allegedly planned to kill him after returning home.
According to the police, the boy was the son of Shankar and Nalini, who were among the last victims to be killed by Indushekar and his minor daughter. The accused allegedly spared the boy temporarily because he wanted him to answer phone calls and send messages to relatives, giving the impression that the family members were alive and travelling.
During the journey, the boy reportedly questioned Indushekar about the foul smell coming from the car and the gunny bags. The accused allegedly told him that the bags contained garbage and waste material. He also disposed of the bodies in the Shiradi Ghat region while the boy was asleep and later returned to Bengaluru with him.
By then, a missing-person complaint had been lodged at Srirampura police station. Police had been tracking the mobile phones of the missing family members, as the devices were repeatedly showing the same location along with the accused’s phone. Investigators were waiting for Indushekar to return. When he reached the Halasuru area, police intercepted his car and took him into custody.
At the time of his detention, a foul smell was emanating from the vehicle. Police also recovered the mobile phones of the victims, which had been kept together in a hand cover. During interrogation, Indushekar allegedly confessed to murdering seven people. Police said he had planned to kill the 10-year-old boy after reaching home, but was arrested before he could execute the plan. He had also allegedly planned to murder another man.
Police said Indushekar first killed his 40-year-old wife Sunitha, followed by his 65-year-old mother-in-law Roopavathi. He subsequently murdered his 30-year-old brother-in-law Shivakumar, his wife Divya and their seven-year-old son Puneeth. The last victims were his other brother-in-law, 40-year-old Shankar, and Shankar’s wife Nalini. Their 10-year-old son survived.
Investigators said Indushekar had allegedly prepared his minor daughter to assist him in murdering his wife. She is suspected of having helped him in the crime and is being treated as the second accused in the case.
The accused had reportedly purchased around 15 plastic gunny bags to pack and transport the bodies. Police said the victims were attacked when they were either sitting or sleeping. A grinding stone was allegedly smashed against their heads, rendering them unconscious, after which they were assaulted further to ensure their deaths.
After each murder, the accused allegedly cleaned the grinding stone and the house using chemicals to remove bloodstains. Although police initially found it difficult to detect traces of blood, forensic examination using modern equipment revealed blood splashes across different parts of the house, including the hall, rooms and kitchen.
According to the preliminary investigation, Indushekar took two to three days to plan and carry out each murder. The police are continuing their investigation into the sequence of killings, the role of the minor daughter and the accused’s alleged plans for further murders.
