Murdered and Burnt

• Bogadi lodge manager’s charred body found at Jayapura Police limits
• Missing gold chain cause for murder?

Mysuru:  In a swift breakthrough, Mysuru District Police have solved the murder of a 31-year-old lodge manager, Mohan Kumar, whose partially burnt body was found near Gumachanahalli in Jayapura Police limits on April 18. The murder is linked to a group of gamblers who suspected the victim of theft.

The deceased, Mohan Kumar, a native of Byadarapura in Chamarajanagar, worked as a manager at a lodge in Bogadi, Mysuru. Police have arrested four accused — Prajwal, Chandu, Kabir Kalaiah and Darshan, all from Bogadi. The prime accused, Srinivas, remains at large.

The murder: Investigations revealed that Srinivas and his associates frequently rented rooms at Bogadi lodge for gambling. On one occasion, Srinivas brought a 60-gram gold chain belonging to a friend to pledge it.

However, due to a full moon, considered not a good day for deals, the transaction could not take place. The gold chain subsequently went missing and Mohan, who was seen on the lodge’s CCTV footage entering and exiting the room, was accused of stealing it.

Despite Mohan’s repeated denials, Srinivas and his group continued to harass him, leading Mohan to stop reporting to work and return to his village.

On the morning of April 17, the accused travelled to Byadarapura in a car and picked up Mohan, who informed his family he was going out with friends. Inside the vehicle, Mohan was allegedly assaulted and died from his injuries. The accused then drove around Mysuru with the body, bought five litres of petrol from a fuel station and set the body on fire at Gumachanahalli to mask the identity of the victim. They finally dumped and burned the body before fleeing.

Cracking the case

On April 18, Jayapura Police registered a murder case after discovering the charred body. Simultaneously, Mohan’s family lodged a missing complaint at Chamarajanagar Rural Police Station, stating he had left with friends the previous morning and hadn’t returned.

While probing the missing person’s case, Chamarajanagar Inspector Mohan discovered that Mohan’s sister had received a call around midnight on April 17. Though she initially claimed it was a missed call, the investigation revealed it was a conversation with Chandu, one of the accused.

This lead was shared with Mysuru Rural Inspector Shivananjashetty, who traced the caller and detained Chandu. Under interrogation, Chandu confessed to the murder, following which three others — Prajwal, Kabir Kalaiah and Darshan — were arrested and remanded to Judicial Custody. Police are continuing the hunt for Srinivas, the main accused.

Mysuru District SP N. Vishnuvardhana formed a special team led by Dy.SP Kareem Rawther to investigate the case. Coordinated efforts between Chamarajanagar and Mysuru Police units played a key role in unravelling the crime.

Police said that the murder stemmed from suspicion and vengeance, following the disappearance of the gold chain and condemned the brutal assault and attempt to destroy evidence by burning the body. Further investigation is on.