3 held in 'woman's body in drum' case

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: In a swift action, the Byappanahalli Railway Police Force (RPF) nabbed three persons in connection with the murder of a woman whose body was recently found stuffed in a drum and dumped near the gates of Byappanahalli railway station in the city. The three arrested persons have been identified as Kamaal, 21, Tanveer, 28, and Shakeeb, 25, all natives of Bihar. They had been working as labourers at the Kalasipalya Market in the city.

Speaking to News Trail on Thursday, the police disclosed the identity of the deceased as Tamanna, 27, a native of Araria district of Bihar. It was further told that the accused and the deceased knew each other. The police said the search was on to nab another five persons alleged to be involved in the case. Soon after the body in the drum was found, a probe was launched to ascertain the identity of the deceased woman.

The police procured footage from all the CCTV cameras in the premises and found a gang, who arrived at the gates of the railway station in an auto rickshaw on March 12 and dumped the plastic drum containing the body. Meanwhile, a dog squad and FSL team investigated the spot and picked up samples and evidence.

Deputy Inspector General, Railways, N Shahikumar and Superintendent of Police SK Soumyalatha formed three teams under DySP Ravikumar to crack the case and nab the culprits. The probe so far has revealed that the woman was killed over a family dispute. Tamanna had divorced her husband Afroz, a specially-abled person and got married to one of his cousins, Intikab.

According to sources, Intikab's brother, identified as Nawab, did not take the development lightly and nursed a grudge against the woman. On March 12, Nawab allegedly invited Tamanna for lunch and killed her by suffocating her with a veil.

Later in the night, with the help of his friends, he dumped the body in a plastic drum near the railway station and abandoned it. After noticing the foul smell emanating from the drum, the concerned police found the body in it. Further investigation is on to nab Nawab and other accused in the case, police said.