Mysore/Mysuru: R. Police have busted the mystery behind suspected kidnap and murder of a kebab vendor of Gandhinagar in city, by tracing his body at a canal in Srirangapatna taluk in Mandya on Wednesday (Feb. 15).

Syed Mansoor (33), is the deceased and the Police have arrested four accused identified as Abhi alias Bruce Lee, Syed Zainuddin alias Zain, Shareeq alias Baban and Iqbal. They were produced before a Court and have been remanded to judicial custody.

Syed Mansoor was selling kebab on a push cart near Jogi Siddaiah Park, Gandhinagar in city. Abhi, the prime accused in the case, was reportedly eve-teasing the girls, passing by his (Mansoor) push cart, under the influence of liquor. Mansoor had advised Abhi against doing so repeatedly. However, when Abhi crossed the limits, Mansoor along with his relative Aslam Pasha had thrashed Abhi  during the last week of January.

Since then Abhi was fuming against Mansoor and had even picked up a quarrel with the latter, along with Zainuddin, the second accused in the case near the cart. Another day, one Ghani the brother of Zainuddin had also picked up a quarrel with Mansoor for assaulting Abhi.

On Feb. 12, Mansoor had not opened the shop and was sitting in his car parked at a distance near the market. Abhi and the co-accused in the case had assaulted Mansoor before abducting him.

Mansoor’s mother Gulnaz, who came in search of her son at around 11 pm, found his car parked near the market. Mansoor’s  footwear was found inside the car and blood stains were found outside till a distance. Suspecting that Abhi and Zainuddin may have kidnapped her son, Gulnaz lodged a complaint at  N.R. Police Station at 11.30 pm on Feb. 12.

Acting swiftly, N.R. Police Inspector Lakshmikanth Talwar and team inspected the spot and found blood stains near the car till a conservancy behind Hotel J.P. Fortune, where more blood stains were found.

When the Police verified the footages of CCTV cameras installed near the spot where Mansoor’s car was parked, Abhi was caught on camera carrying away Mansoor and have suspected that Mansoor may have been stabbed before he was taken away and murdered somewhere else. But as the body was not found, two Police teams were formed and a manhunt for Abhi and Zainuddin was launched.

While one among them was apprehended at Bandipalya, another was picked up from his home. 

During interrogation, the duo are said to have confessed of  hacking Mansoor to death for assaulting them over eve teasing, by bludgeoning Mansoor at the conservancy behind Hotel J.P. Fortune.

The accused had punched Mansoor in his face, after dragging him out of his car. Even as Mansoor was bleeding in his nose and mouth, they carried him away. After doing him to death, they transported the  body in a gunny bag in an autorickshaw of one Farooq and disposed the body at CDS Canal near Ballenahalli in Srirangapatna Taluk, the accused revealed.

Later, the Police who took the accused duo (Abhi and Zainuddin) to CDS Canal and recovered the gunny bag along with the body of Mansoor.

The other accused in the case — Iqbal and Shareeq were also arrested. While the search is on for autorickshaw owner Farooq in whose vehicle the body was transported.