Karnataka bank cashier held for murdering her boss

BENGALURU: A 27-year-old woman was arrested along with her relative and two

contract killers

for allegedly murdering her senior at a co-operative bank after he caught her for

misappropriation of funds

.

Police said the gang killed Murugesh, 36, chief executive officer, Primary Agriculture Credit Cooperative Bank, Kachanayakanahalli on April 13 when he was returning home. They strangled him and bludgeoned his head with sticks and boulders. His body was found on April 15 in a eucalyptus grove outside Murugesh’s village Samandahalli.

The prime accused is Rekha Niranjana Murthy, 27, a cashier in the same bank. The other accused are her relative Putta Basappa alias Appi, 26, (both residents of Kachanayakanahalli) and contract killers Shaktivelu M, 27, of Garvebhavi Palya and Manikanthan M, 29, of Beguru.

Police investigation showed that Rekha had misappropriated Rs 1.5 lakh. During an internal audit, Murugesh spotted it and asked her to return the money or he would call in the cops. Rekha returned Rs 75,000 last month.

“Rekha decided to eliminate Murugesh and sought Basappa’s help. He brought in contract killers — truck driver Shaktivelu and daily wage labourer Manikanthan. The trio met Rekha on April 13 and agreed to execute her plan for Rs 35,000. She paid them Rs 10,000 as an advance.

Attibele police, quoting from her confession statement, said she wanted to avenge the embarrassment of being caught. “She not only intended to murder Murugesh but also hoped to get his job,” an investigating officer said.

She acted innocent

Police said Murugesh’s wife Radha filed a missing person case with Suryanagar police station on April 14. Radha said her husband hadn’t returned home and his mobile had been switched off since April 13. When police questioned Rekha, she acted quite the innocent and said she left the bank around 3pm April 13. When police grilled her, she confessed to the crime.

Killers visited victim’s house

Putta Basappa and the two contract killers had gone to Murugesh’s house around 8.30pm on April 13. They posed as farmers who wanted to discuss a loan with him and asked his wife for his mobile number.

Police said the trio caught Murugesh on the road, dragged him into a eucalyptus grove and murdered him. Police nabbed the gang based on call records and other clues. All four accused have been remanded to judicial custody.
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