Butchered: Accident case turns out to be murder

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: What looked like a case of accident later turned out to be a murder case following a detailed investigation by the Yeshwanthapura traffic police. The incident had happened on October 17 and the victim, Pratheek S. Yadav, 31, a resident of Kodigehalli, had died of severe head injuries.

The victim told his family members that he got injured in a self-accident near Mathikere. After a few days of treatment at NIMHANS, he reportedly died. The hospital sent a memo to the traffic police based on the victim’s statement. However, when the traffic police went to the spot, they did not find any traces of accident. They also verified the CCTV footage and found that no accidents had happened at that particular point.

The post-mortem report also stated that the victim’s head had been hit with a blunt object. The traffic police then transferred the case to the Kodigehalli police as it appeared to be a case of murder. The police then found out that the victim was taken to a nearby private hospital on the day of the incident by his friend for the treatment.

The accused, Sameesh, is a butcher by profession and works at a meat stall, owned by a person identified as Suresh, and located at Thindlu Circle in Kodigehalli.

On the day of the incident, the accused was at work. Around 3 pm, Yadav came to the shop with Suresh. He was drunk and demanded Rs 100 from the accused. When Sameesh refused, Yadav started abusing him.

Out of frustration, Sameesh hit Yadav’s on his head with the 1-kg cast iron weight. Yadav started bleeding and Suresh tied a cloth around his head and called his brother Subramani, to shift the victim to the hospital.

Yadav told hospital authorities that he met with an accident. After returning home, Yadav began having severe headaches. He told his family that it was due to the accident. After he died, Sameesh left the job and moved to Anekal and started working as a construction worker.

“The police while investigating the case questioned Subramani as his details were available in the hospital’s records at the time of the first admission. Subramani told police that the victim requested him not to tell about the attack. Based on the details provided by Subramani, the police arrested the accused,” said an officer on part of investigations. The Kodigehalli police have charged Sameesh with murder and are further investigating.