Killing occurs when family was fast asleep; Neighbours, relatives shell-shocked

Srirangapatna: The quiet neighbourhood of Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) village, a few kilometres from Mysuru, woke up this morning to the gruesome murder of five of a family.

A woman and four children were hacked to death inside their house on Bazaar Lane and preliminary investigation by the Police have revealed that the killer(s) attacked them last night or during the wee hours of today while they were fast asleep. There was blood all over the house and the Police suspect that a sharp object resembling a dagger has been used in the crime.

The victims have been identified as 32-year-old Lakshmi, her children 12-year-old Raj, 7-year-old Komal and 4-year-old Kunal. One more victim, 8-year-old Govinda, is the son of a relative. Lakshmi’s husband Gangaram is a garment businessman and is travelling to get clothes.

Several families from Rajasthan, Maharashtra and other parts of North India had made KRS village their home and their houses have been concentrated on the Bazaar Lane for over 40 years. They are primarily from the business community and used to get clothes and other goods from other places outside Karnataka to be sold in the Mysuru region.

The gruesome incident came to light when some neighbours knocked on the doors of Gangaram’s house at 8.30 am today as no one from the house had come out.

Usually, the children would be out of the house early and Lakshmi would be up by 5 am to do her household chores.

Neighbours, some of them relatives of the family, told reporters that Lakshmi used to wake them up early every day and today they were surprised as she did not knock at their doors. They went and checked and found the main door ajar. They were shocked to witness gory scenes inside. Neighbours and relatives said that Govinda was the son of Gangaram’s brother and he came to the house months ago and was staying with Gangaram’s family. While the bodies of Lakshmi and her three children were found in one room, Govinda was found dead on the bed in another room.

Relatives and neighbours said that Gangaram’s family had maintained a cordial relationship with everyone. Shocked by the crime, many women were seen wailing on the streets while some were calling other relatives to inform them of the news.

Neighbours informed the jurisdictional KRS Police who rushed to the spot and sealed the entire area. As it is a narrow lane, a huge crowd had gathered near the place of crime and surrounding houses. The Police had a tough time controlling the crowd.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that the almirah of the house was open. However, the Police are tight-lipped on the motive as more details are yet to be secured. Relatives and Police have informed Gangaram who is on his way back.

Dog squad and fingerprint experts visited the crime scene and collected clues. Inspector General of Police (IGP) – Southern Range Pravin Madhukar Pawar, Mandya Superintendent of Police (SP) N. Yathish, Srirangapatna Dy.SP S.N. Sandeshkumar and other Police officers have camped in the area.