'BJP worker' purchases drum to dispose elderly woman's body

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: Intensifying probe into the brutal murder of an elderly woman in the city, the police identified the body and also tracked the suspect who was later arrested, the police told News Trail on Monday.

Susheelamma, 70, was found murdered and her dismembered body was recovered from a plastic drum a few metres away from her house in Gayathri Layout on Saturday afternoon.

The body was discovered by few locals who alerted the police after they noticed a foul smell emanating from a drum in the area.

According to sources, the accused had cut her body into six pieces and had dumped it into a drum. Following inspection, the KR Puram police said the body was found without limbs.

The police suspect that the murder might have taken place on Friday night. The cops obtained footage from the CCTV installed around the area to track and identify the suspect.

Preliminary probe hinted at a property dispute But, later it was learnt that Susheelamma lived with her daughter in the house for the last eight years and the police initially suspected that the murder took place over an alleged property dispute.

Additional Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru West, Raman Gupta said during the investigation, various angles were considered that might have led to the woman's murder.

Susheelamma, a native of Chikkaballapura district had recently sold a property and leased the house in an apartment in Gayathri Layout.

One of her daughters and a son used to reside in separate houses in the same area. Another daughter used to live with the woman and was working at a private firm in Bengaluru.

In a statement to the police, her daughter stated that recently Susheelamma started going out of the house for two-three days without informing her.

The daughter said that this was the reason why she did not suspect foul play even after her mother went missing on Friday night.

Body discovered by the residents

On Saturday, the locals in the area got suspicious of a foul smell coming from a narrow passage near the apartment where Susheelamma resided.

The locals found a suspiciouslooking plastic drum without a lid in the passage and were shocked to discover a severed human body stuffed in it.

The KR Puram police along with the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team collected samples and evidence from the spot.

A dog squad was pressed into service which led the cops to a house nearby based on the scent. The police detained the suspect who is said to be a member of a political party and is well-known to the family of the deceased.

Whitefield Deputy Commissioner of Police Shivakumar Gunare said they have filed a murder case and an investigation is on.

Suspect confesses to have murdered the woman

The suspect was identified as Dinesh, 40, a resident of Nisarga Layout. He had previously worked as a merchant at the Chennai Port.

It was also learnt that he was also affiliated to the BJP party. Following interrogation, the suspect confessed to have murdered the woman in order to steal her jewellery and other valuables she was wearing.

The KR Puram police said that the suspect had outstanding loans of Rs 30 lakh and the lenders had started threatening him to clear the dues. He assumed that Susheelamma was having lot of money with her.

“On the pretext of taking her to a temple, the suspect allegedly invited the woman to his house and strangled her to death inside the store room. He allegedly stole the jewellery she was wearing and decided to pledge them in exchange for cash. However he learnt that except for a pair of earrings, other ornaments were not gold. The suspect then disposed the body of the woman when no one was around,” the police told News Trail.

The accused had purchased the plastic drum to dispose the dismembered body of the elderly woman.