The suspects reportedly told the police that they had no intention of killing Sudhindra and Vighnesh, but decided to eliminate them after the media reported the kidnap.
Five suspects have been detained in connection with the kidnap and murder of two students in Hunsur, police sources said on Wednesday.
The suspects reportedly told the police that they had no intention of killing Sudhindra and Vighnesh, but decided to eliminate them after the media reported the kidnap.
The gang wanted the kidnap to be kept under wraps, and did not want the police on the trail. But when media reported that the police had launched a search, they feared arrest and decided to eliminate the teenagers. Earlier, the gang had contacted Sudhindra’s father Mohan Kumar, demanding a ransom of Rs5 crore.
A police team led by assistant commissioner of police (Special Inquiry Squad) Nyama Gowda is in Kolkata. Unconfirmed reports said they had picked up three persons from there.
A senior police officer, privy to the investigation, said they had collected more than 25 to 30 evidence. “At least seven to eight persons were involved in the crime,” the officer said. He, however, refused to identify those who were detained.
The probe revealed that the gang had been monitoring the movements of Sudhindra’s family for a while. They were also aware of the family’s plan to purchase land in a prime locality in Bangalore, for over Rs40 crore.
The BBA students were last seen in a park after they had bunked an examination on June 8. Their bodies were found on June 12.
Sudhindra’s family received the first ransom call on June 8. The student himself made the call, saying he had been kidnapped. Police traced the location of the call to Kyatamaranahalli, between Mysore and Bangalore.
It was not ascertained if Vighnesh was at Kyatamaranahalli when Sudhindra called. The next call was made 15 minutes later from Hunsur.
Investigators have also found that Sudhindra had received more than 20 calls from a particular number on June 8. The police are not ruling out the involvement of someone known to the student’s family in the entire episode, since no ransom calls were made to Vighnesh’s father Srinath.
The students’ murder had caused outrage in Hunsur town, which observed a complete bundh on Monday. Protestors blocked the national highway traversing through the town, alleging that police inaction had resulted in the murder of the two students.
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