Bengaluru family murders: Bodies of accused's wife, mother-in-law found in TN forest

Police have uncovered the bodies of Sunitha and her mother Rupavathi in Tamil Nadu following a series of murders.

BENGALURU: Police have recovered the bodies of Sunitha, wife of accused S Indushekhar, and her mother Rupavathi from a forest area in Salem district of Tamil Nadu, taking the number of bodies recovered in the Bengaluru serial murder case to three. A 12-member team comprising family members has left for Salem to identify the bodies and complete the necessary legal formalities, police said. Investigators have also found that Indushekhar allegedly removed gold ornaments from the bodies of his wife and three other women before disposing of them. He is suspected to have sold some of the jewellery, and police are now tracing the transactions as part of the investigation. According to his alleged confession, Indushekhar killed Sunitha on the night of October 14. The following day, his daughter called Rupavathi and invited her home for dinner, telling her that they would have mutton curry. Indushekhar allegedly told police that he sedated the victims with sleeping pills and bludgeoned them after they fell asleep. Police also recovered at least half a dozen perfume bottles from his Toyota Etios (KA-02-AF-1488), which is being examined as part of the investigation. The postmortem report of seven-year-old victim Puneeth, who was allegedly killed on October 29, confirmed four blunt-force injuries to his head, including the forehead and crown, investigators said. The 52-year-old cab driver was arrested near Ulsoorgate in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Police suspect he killed his wife and six members of her extended family over a 15-day period in October. The murders allegedly took place at his rented house in Rajajinagar between October 16 and 31. He is accused of crushing the victims with a grindstone before wrapping their bodies in multiple layers of plastic covers and placing them in gunny bags. Investigators suspect the killings stemmed from a prolonged marital dispute and resentment towards his wife's relatives, whom he blamed for supporting her during their conflicts. His 17-year-old daughter is suspected to have assisted him in some of the murders and in disposing of the bodies. A 10-year-old boy, the son of two victims, was found in the accused's car when police arrested him. Investigators said Indushekhar had allegedly planned to kill the boy as well. Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the killings, the disposal of the bodies, the sale of the jewellery and the suspected role of his daughter.