Sunil Lohan
A 26-year-old daily wage labourer who went missing earlier this month was found dead 16 days later in a well, with his body tied to a stone.
The kudur Police investigations have revealed that the victim was allegedly murdered by his two friends to avoid bearing the cost of his medical treatment after he sustained a severe spinal cord injury.
The incident took place in Vajarahalli village of Magadi taluk, under the limits of Kudur police station in Bengaluru South district.
The deceased has been identified as Vinod Kumar (26). The accused are Sudeep (19),a construction worker, and Prajwal (19),a private company car driver.All three are residents of Kalyanapura village in Magadi taluk.
According to the police Vinod and his friends had gone to an agricultural farm on January 1 at around 1 pm to celebrate New Year.
During the celebration,which involved consumption of alcohol,the group allegedly asked Vinod to climb a coconut tree to pluck tender coconuts to mix with liquor.
Vinod reportedly lost balance and fell from a height of nearly 30 feet,suffering a serious spinal cord injury.
As Vinod screamed in pain,the accused panicked and initially decided to take him home.
However, on the way,Sudeep and Prajwal allegedly feared that villagers might question them and that Vinod’s medical treatment would cost several lakhs, which they would be unable to afford.
To avoid this responsibility,they allegedly drowned Vinod in a lake near Vajarahalli, a relatively secluded area with minimal public movement.
Later the same evening, the accused reportedly retrieved the body, tied it to a stone using a wire, dumped it into a well, and fled the scene.
The body was discovered on January 17 when a few villagers went swimming in the well and noticed the corpse tied to a stone.They immediately alerted the police.
Police officials said Vinod had not returned home on January 1,following which his grandfather filed a missing complaint on January 2.
While police launched a search operation,Vinod’s parents,who reside in Bengaluru,searched for him in the city suspecting he might have travelled there.CCTV footage from nearby areas was analysed, but no significant leads emerged.
As Vinod was last seen with his friends,the police detained them for questioning.During interrogation,the accused allegedly confessed to killing Vinod due to fear of medical expenses and possible legal consequences.
The accused were arrested on January 18 and remanded to police custody for further investigation.
