Mysuru: Five days after an oil merchant from city went missing and later found dead at a canal at Bannur, the Police have successfully cracked the case and have arrested six persons on charges of kidnap and murder.

The victim is 36-year-old Senthil and he was abducted and murdered by the gang after kidnapping him and collecting Rs.2.22 lakh from Senthil’s nephew.

The accused have been identified as Sridhar of K.R. Mohalla, Manjunath alias Cholu of Metagalli, Manju alias Manjunath of Kumbarakoppal, Santhosh of Ittigegud, Imran Pasha alias Mayi and Imran alias Gabbar of Bannur.

Senthil, a palm oil vendor and a resident of Veene Seshanna Road at K.R. Mohalla (Fort Mohalla), was found dead at the dry Raja Parameshwari Canal in Bannur on Jan.29. Senthil had left his house on Jan.28 and the same day at around 10.45 pm, Senthil called his brother-in-law Nikhil over phone and told him to come near Gun House Circle with Rs.2.22 lakh cash. Nikhil was told that two persons would come to Gun House Circle on his (Senthil’s) Suzuki Access scooter (KA-09 EZ-8138) and he should make sure about their identity and hand over the money.

Accordingly, Nikhil reached the Gun House Circle at around 11.30 pm with the cash and handed it over to two persons who had covered their face with a handkerchief. Later, as Senthil’s phone was switched off, the family members assumed that he would have gone somewhere for his trade. Meanwhile, Bannur Police, who recovered a dead body established Senthil’s identity through a document found on the body, informed K.R. Police. The family members later identified Senthil’s body. Fearing that they may be caught, the accused killed Senthil before disposing his body in the canal. The accused, who had taken Senthil to a place under the pretext of holding business talks, had demanded a ransom of Rs.25 lakh.

Investigating the case, the Police traced Senthil’s Call Detail Record (CDR) and one person from Manchegowdanakoppal was grilled and he told the Police that one Sridhar had taken the SIM card from him. The Police found out that Sridhar had made a couple of calls to Senthil using that SIM card. Later, Sridhar was arrested and he revealed the identity of five other accused.

Interrogation revealed that the accused had planned to extort money from Senthil who was doing well in business and also owned a godown to store oil. Sridhar called Senthil and told him that there was a big cooking oil godown owned by Imran of Bannur and asked him (Senthil) to visit the place.

Senthil readily agreed and Sridhar took him to Bannur where the other accused lay in wait. An unsuspecting Senthil fell into the trap and once he reached Bannur, the accused demanded Rs.25 lakh cash. Senthil told them that he does not have that much cash and told them that he could handover Rs.2.22 lakh.

Senthil then called his brother-in-law and asked him to hand over the money. Fearing that Senthil will inform the Police, the accused bludgeoned him to death.