Mysore/Mysuru: The Seventh Additional District and Sessions Court in Mysuru has sentenced two persons to life imprisonment on charges of murdering their friend in 2017 at Vijayanagar Fourth Stage. Judge K. Doddegowda found the accused guilty and pronounced the judgement.

Jayaram, 34, son of Rajalingashetty of Belawadi village was murdered five years ago by his friends Anil Kumar and Mahesh. The third accused in the case Satish of Vidyaranyapuram was acquitted as there was no evidence to prove him guilty.

The murder had taken place over the issue of a loan where Jayaram had given Rs. 20,000 to Anil Kumar and Mahesh. Jayaram of Belawadi, who had rented a house at Hootagalli, Anil Kumar of K.T. Street and Mahesh of Meghalakoppalu were friends and were working in a car showroom on the city outskirts.

Loan caused the rift

Anil Kumar had borrowed a loan of Rs. 20,000 from Jayaram and had not returned it on time. A fight broke out between them when Jayaram demanded Anil Kumar to return his money. The issue also led to frequent arguments both at the workplace and at the place where the three friends would meet after work.

With no other go, Jayaram complained to the showroom owner who called Anil Kumar to his workplace and advised him to settle the money and be friends again. But enraged over this, Anil Kumar plotted to kill Jayaram. He involved Mahesh and Satish in the plan and fixed May 27, 2017, as the date of plan execution.

Plan executed on May 27, 2017

On that day, the friends finished work and Jayaram was getting ready to go home on his bike along with Satish. Mahesh, meanwhile, asked Jayaram if he could drop him on the way. Jayaram agreed and he, Satish and Mahesh travelled in one bike from the car showroom and reached Vijayanagar Fourth Stage High Tension Double Road at 8.30 pm.

As Mahesh and Anil Kumar had planned earlier, Mahesh asked Jayaram to stop his bike at a designated place to urinate. Anil Kumar lay in wait at the place. Unaware of the plan, Jayaram stopped the bike. Suddenly, Anil Kumar appeared from the bushes with a dagger and stabbed Jayaram. The act was facilitated by Mahesh who pushed Jayaram from the bike.

The third accused flees

Jayaram fell from the bike and Anil Kumar repeatedly stabbed him. Seeing blood and Jayaram being mercilessly attacked, Satish, who had accompanied Jayaram and Mahesh from the car showroom, fled the scene and disappeared into the darkness. Later, Anil Kumar sat on Jayaram’s stomach and repeatedly stabbed him on the chest, throat and face while Mahesh stood silently and watched.

 A murder case was registered in the Vijayanagar Police Station. But Satish did not report the incident to the Police as he felt threatened. The then Police Inspector Guruprasad led the investigation and collected clues on all vehicles passing through the road on that night at about 8.30.

Evidence collected

He used mobile tower location dump data and zeroed in on certain mobile numbers that were in close proximity to Jayaram’s mobile location. Later, after Guruprasad was transferred, Inspector P.N. Anil Kumar pursued the case and identified the accused. After arrest and interrogation, a charge-sheet was submitted to the Court against Anil Kumar, Mahesh and Satish.

While the Court sentenced Anil Kumar and Mahesh to life imprisonment, it acquitted Satish as there was no suitable evidence to prove his complicity. The Police had stated in the charge-sheet that Satish had helped Anil Kumar and Mahesh to escape on his bike.

The Court also imposed a fine of Rs. 37,000 each on the convicted. Public Prosecutor K. Nagaraj had argued for the State.