He was roaming aimlessly in Madenadu forest region and was bitten by leeches

Madikeri: The Bengaluru Police have arrested 27-year-old Sharath Survarna, who is suspected to be involved in the double murder of his elderly parents, following a three-day hunt that ended in the forests of Madenadu in Kodagu district.

Sharath was tracked down in the forest area on Friday (July 21) evening after the Police analysed CCTV footage to trace his movements. He had left his Bengaluru home on the night of the murders.

Allegedly, Sharath murdered his parents, Bhaskar (61) and Shantha (60), on Monday (July 17) night before locking up their house and escaping. The incident occurred at Kodigehalli in Bengaluru, where Bhaskar and Shantha lived with their youngest son Sharath.

Shantha was a retired Central Government employee, while Bhaskar worked as a cashier at a canteen in Khanija Bhavan. Although the family was native to Mangaluru, they had lived in Bengaluru for nearly 12 years and had two sons — Sajith and Sharath.

According to Bengaluru Police, the murders likely occurred between 8.30-9 pm on Monday. The couple suffered fatal head injuries from a blunt object. They had apparently cried out for help, but the neighbours mistook it for a routine squabble and did not pay much attention to it.

The incident came to light when the parents did not receive a call from Sajith on Tuesday morning. He called the neighbours, who informed him that the couple had not come out of their house since morning and the house was locked from the outside. Suspecting something was wrong, Sajith went to their home around 11.30 am and broke open the door, only to find his parents’ dead bodies in the living room.

Knocks doors of a house for food

The Police stated that Sharath did not carry any electronic devices with him, which hampered the investigation. However, CCTV footage showed him wandering around Bengaluru in a BMTC bus. Sharath wandered nearly 40 km around Bengaluru before boarding a KSRTC bus to Dakshina Kannada, as confirmed by the CCTV footage.

After getting off at Puttur and spending some time there, he reached Madikeri in another KSRTC bus. From there, he proceeded to Madenadu and entered the forest region. He endured the rain and leech bites, walking through the forests for two days without any food.

Eventually, Sharath knocked at the doors of a house located at the forest edge and asked for food. As his appearance aroused suspicion, the residents of the house questioned him but Sharath’s answers were not convincing. Consequently, they alerted the 112-emergency response number.

The Madikeri Police later took Sharath to the District Hospital, and his identity was established when Sub-Inspector Umesh Uppalike collected more information on his computer and during Sharath’s interrogation.

The Bengaluru Police had already issued a State-wide alert to apprehend Sharath and had circulated his photo. The Kodigehalli Police were informed, and a team arrived in Madikeri to take custody of Sharath.

Sharath, who is unemployed, lived reclusively on the terrace. He was known to have exhibited violent behaviour with little or no provocation in the past. His parents had warned tenants and neighbours against engaging with him or going up to the terrace where Sharath Suvarna lived. His brother Sajith said that Sharath suffered from mood swings and would behave strangely.