• All accused in the age group of 22 and 26
• Caught while partying at a farmhouse in Yelwal

Mysore/Mysuru: The Mysuru City Police have made a breakthrough in the investigation into the murder of rowdy-sheeter Chandru (45), also known as Chandu, in Vontikoppal.

In the early morning hours of yesterday, a seven-member gang of suspects was arrested at a farmhouse in Yelwal. However, four other individuals involved in the case are still at large, prompting the Police to launch a manhunt to apprehend them.

The arrested have been identified as R. Yashwanth (alias Karjoora), aged 26 and a resident of Seventh Cross, Nimishamba Layout, Kuvempunagar, N. Mahesh, aged 23 and a resident of Kaduvina Kattehundi village in Chamarajanagar taluk, R. Preetham Gowda (alias Halappa), aged 25 and a resident of Fifth Cross, Fifth Main, Vinayaka Nagar in Mysuru, N. Sudeep, aged 22 and a resident of Seventh Cross, K.G. Koppal, Raghavendra, aged 21 and a resident of K.G. Koppal, Prashanth, aged 21 and a resident of Seventh Main, Vinayaka Nagar, and Arvind Sagar, aged 26 and a resident of Third Stage, Kuvempunagar.

The accused were produced before a judge in the afternoon and subsequently remanded to judicial custody. Surprisingly, all the accused are between the ages of 22 and 26 and have no criminal antecedents. Earlier, when there was a clash between two gangs, Chandru had allegedly warned the accused, enraged at which they bludgeoned him to death.

Chandru’s murder took place on the evening of May 18. He was sitting in front of a tailor shop in Vontikoppal when a gang of youths arrived on three motorcycles and attacked him with lethal weapons, including a sharp and long object with a curved edge and a cudgel.

After the assault, the gang fled the scene in their vehicles. Two other individuals on another motorcycle had provided information about Chandru’s movements to the accused, aiding in the execution of the crime.

The V.V. Puram Police registered a case and initiated an investigation, while City Police Commissioner Ramesh Banoth formed four separate teams under the leadership of ACP of Narasimharaja Sub-Division C.K. Ashwath Narayan, ACP of Devaraja Sub-Division Shanthamallappa, ACP of City Crime Branch (CCB) Sandesh Kumar and Inspector of Mandi Police Station Yogesh to track down the accused at their hideouts.

It has been revealed during the interrogation that the accused had previous animosity with Chandru, which escalated from a minor scuffle. They had even made an attempt to harm Chandru nine days prior to the murder but had to abort their plan when a passing car interrupted them near Panchavati Circle at 9.30 pm on that day.

Unaware of this failed attempt, Chandru was casually spending time in front of the tailor shop on the ill-fated day that led to his tragic killing. Following the murder, the suspects purchased liquor and sought refuge at a farmhouse in the outskirts of Yelwal. The Police are now intensifying efforts to locate the remaining four individuals involved in the case, who are believed to be hiding near H.D. Kote.

The possibility of the crime being motivated by a long-standing rivalry related to the Hunsur double murder case and the Paduvarahalli murder case of Paduvarahalli Devendra, also known as Devu, cannot  be ruled out.