BENGALURU: A 27-year-old cabbie allegedly strangled a 48-year-old accountant to death and dumped the body in a drain. Bheemaraya alias Bheema told police he didn't have an affair with Deepa G, but was upset with her for not answering his phone calls and avoiding him.
Bheema, a resident of Murugeshpalya, and from north Karnataka, was arrested after passersby spotted the decomposed body near MCECHS Layout and alerted police on March 5.
Deepa, an accounts manager with a private firm near Hoskote, Bengaluru Rural, was a single woman and lived alone in a flat in Indiranagar. Bheema was known to Deepa and her family members for more than 18 months,probe revealed. Deepa went missing on February 27, and Balaji Jagannath, a relative, filed a complaint with Indiranagar police on February 28.
CCTV footage from the apartment showed Deepa exiting the gate and walking towards the road at 7.35pm on February 27. Her mobile phone, which was on till the next day, was switched off subsequently.
Meanwhile, Deepa's uncle Krishnamurthy NV from Coimbatore reached the city and joined the family in search. "On March 5, Bagalur police informed us about the body. We identified Deepa with the help of her wristwatch, gold ring and the cloth. We suspect her cab driver could have murdered her," Krishnamurthy's complaint read.
Krishnamurthy told police Bheema was close to the family members and seven months ago, he came to seek their blessings after purchasing a car. "Some days ago, Deepa called me saying Bheema wanted to take us to Nandi Hills but I refused. I had told Deepa to maintain a distance from him," he said.
Based on his complaint, police detained Bheema and on questioning, he confessed to the crime. He said Deepa used to treat him like a family member and offered food to him. He was angry with her for blocking his mobile number.
On February 27, Deepa had asked Bheema to drop her at a shop in Indiranagar. While driving, Bheema questioned Deepa as to why she was not speaking to him like earlier. When Deepa said she would not answer such questions, and would continue to block his number if he tried to get closer, he lost his cool. "I took the cab to a desolate place near Cambridge Road and strangled her to death at 8.30pm. After midnight, I dumped the body in a drain near Bagalur," Bheema told police.
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