Bangalore police solve software engineer’s murder

The recent murder of software engineer Adhip Lahiri, which has sent shock waves in the Information Technology (IT) sector of Bangalore, was solved by the police with the arrest of two former employees of Information Technology Park Limited (ITPL) in the City.

The accused Raju, 23, and Venkatesh, 28, who had worked as transport supervisor and security guard respectively at ITPL, were caught by the police after they went on a purchase-spree from the credit and debit cards belonging to Lahiri.

Commissioner of Bangalore City police N Achyutha Rao told reporters that Raju and Venkatesh, both of whom had been thrown out of their jobs, saw Lahiri getting into his car at ITPL with his laptop on the fateful December 22 night. Immediately, the duo got into a borrowed car, overtook him on a deserted stretch of road and managed to create an accident-like situation, forcing Lahiri to slow down his car.

As Lahiri peeped out of out the car, the duo sprayed pepper into his eyes. When the car ground to a halt, Raju and Venkatesh forced themselves into Lahiri’s car and pushed him into the navigator’s seat. Raju occupied the driving seat after tying up Lahiri’s hands and legs, besides gagging him an adhesive tape.

On the move, they snatched Lahiri’s laptop, mobile phone and a wedding, besides the wallet, which contained his credit and debit cards. They tortured Lahiri and forced him to reveal the passwords and personal identification numbers of the credit and debit cards.

Meanwhile, when the car reached Whitefield railway crossing, which was closed to facilitate a train to pass by, the duo were forced to stop the vehicle. When Lahiri tried to neck himself out and shout for help, the culprits smothered him to death. Later, Lahiri’s body was shifted to the car’s luggage compartment. They proceeded to Garudacharapalya lake on the outskirts of Bangalore and threw Lahiri’s dead body.

With the police having put up checks on all roads leading out of Bangalore after receiving a missing complaint from Lahiri’s wife, the duo abandoned the car at Yeshwanthpur, hired an auto and returned to the “accident spot” to pick up their borrowed car.

With Lahiri’s credit and debit cards in their possession, Raju and Venkatesh had managed to draw a total of 100,000 in Kolar and Bangalore. When they purchased a mobile phone and a SIM card, the police were firmly on their trail.