Mysore/Mysuru: A day after retired IB (Intelligence Bureau) Officer R.N. Kulkarni (82) was killed when he was on his routine walk, the Police have reportedly taken three persons into custody for questioning.

Investigation into the death took a twist as the Police, who initially believed it was a road accident, suspected it to be a murder and registered a murder case. Kulkarni was hit by a speeding car when he was walking inside the Manasagangothri campus on Friday evening.

In the absence of any witnesses or definite clues, the Police, who saw the footage captured by a CCTV camera installed close to the crime scene, are on the lookout for the grey-colour car that drove towards the retired IB officer, knocking him down. The car sped away from the spot within seconds of the collision.

Apart from the lone CCTV footage, the Police are relying on the latest technology to trace  the car and its occupants. They are rounding off mobile numbers, group mobile numbers (at the same time and same location) on the route on that particular date and time and also the calls made or received at that hour.

Mobile numbers traced by the mobile towers of the area are being screened for more clues by the Police teams. 

One of the three teams formed to crack the case is visiting every car garage, service centre and spare part shops in and around the city in a bid to trace the missing car that did not have the registration number plate either on its front or rear end, according to CCTV footage.

Amidst all this, the Police have reportedly taken three persons — whom they suspect to be involved in the case — into custody for questioning, according to Police sources.

Plot to murder days ago

Investigation has revealed that the killers had plotted to eliminate the high-profile retired officer days ago. Adding credence to the theory, Kulkarni’s wife is said to have told her family’s close friends that some unknown persons followed them whenever they went out of their home in their car.

In the meantime, the Police have intensified their search for the car in question. The Police have sought details from the RTO on a grey coloured sedan of Honda City or Skoda make as the images of the car captured in the CCTV camera resemble these models.

City Police Commissioner Dr. Chandragupta, who visited the spot on Saturday, said that three Police teams under the leadership of N.R. Sub-Division ACP Shivashankar have been formed to trace the absconding car and its occupants.

Pointing out that a murder case has been registered after it became certain that it was a planned killing, he said that the motive behind the killing may not be professional rivalry as Kulkarni retired 23 years ago.

Maintaining that the real motive behind the planned murder is yet to be ascertained, Dr. Chandragupta said that the Police are putting together all material evidence that was gathered from the crime spot.

The Police, apart from launching a hectic search for the missing car, are investigating the case from all angles, he added.

Kulkarni’s movement watched for days 

In their plan to kill former IB Officer R.N. Kulkarni and make it look like a hit-and-run case, the miscreants reportedly watched the movements of the former IB Officer for several days, before executing their plan on Friday evening.

The killers are said to have followed the car of Kulkarni whenever he ventured out of his home and tracked the roads which he used to regularly walk in the evenings on Manasagangothri campus. They even tracked Kulkarni’s other regular outings along with the time he frequents the location. However, the motive behind Kulkarni’s killing is not known yet.