She gave him shelter but he wanted sex. Denied, he stabbed the woman and her little niece to death. This is no crime thriller; it happened in Hebbal on Monday night.

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The city police are now trying to find whether culprit Raja, 30, who allegedly killed the woman after she spurned his amorous advances at an old building on KHB Road in Hebbal, had been involved in similar cases of crime in the city.

Police said, around 9.30 pm, Raja, who used to clean drainages and toilets to make a living, had come drunk at the building near Vinutha Bar where Pavitra, 30, and her niece Aishwarya, 10, both rag pickers, slept.

He tried to drag Pavitra out and made sexual advances at her. When she refused, he took out a knife and stabbed the woman.

The niece too met the same fate when she tried to rescue Pavitra.

Though he tried to flee immediately after crime, the neighbours who heard the cries of the victims rushed to spot and caught Raja after a chase. In the melee, Raja also stabbed two others — Charan and Nizamuddin. Pavitra and Aishwarya died on the spot, while the injured neighbours were rushed to a hospital.

“We suspect Raja to be a hardened criminal. The gruesome act itself speaks volumes of his criminal intentions,” said a police officer.

Assistant commissioner of police (JC Nagar sub-division) CM Naidu said he had asked Hebbal police to interrogate Raja so that some more information on his past are out. “We are trying to find out whether he was involved in similar acts in the past,” the officer said.

Police said there have been murders of similar nature in the past too and they feel Raja could be involved, though it was too early to confirm it.

Raja had approached Pavitra only a couple of days ago seeking some space to sleep at night for which she agreed. “They had no clue Raja would turn out to be their killer,” police said.