How a drive to hills with lover turned deadly for Bengaluru professor

BENGALURU: C Ramanjinappa, 45, a resident of Marasandra near Rajanakunte and an employee at the Devanahalli taluk office, borrowed a hatchback from his friend Suresh Kumar around 6.30am on Saturday, citing a family medical emergency.He then drove to Devanahalli and picked up Saroja J, 40, a Kannada professor at a private college. Police said the two were in a relationship.A day trip through Nandi Hills: How events unfoldedThe duo reportedly spent the morning visiting Nandi Hills and nearby locations. By afternoon, they reached the secluded outskirts of Jinkebachhahalli in Doddaballapur.It was here, police said, that the outing took a violent turn.According to cops, an argument escalated inside the vehicle, following which Ramanjinappa allegedly attacked Saroja with a hammer, rendering her unconscious.He then moved her to the rear seat, allegedly poured petrol over the car and set it on fire.Witnesses later told police they saw a man fleeing from burning vehicle with his clothes also catching fire in the process.Local residents alerted police after spotting the blaze. Fire tenders rushed to the spot and doused the flames, only to find a charred body inside the car.The vehicle’s owner, Suresh Kumar, simultaneously received an automated crash alert on his phone. When he tried contacting Ramanjinappa, his phone was switched off.Police later traced the vehicle using its chassis number and informed Kumar, who confirmed that Ramanjinappa had taken the car that morning.A missing report for Saroja was also received by police on Saturday night. Burnt ornaments recovered from the car helped officers establish her identity, which was later confirmed by her husband, Jayashankar.A special team led by inspector Sadiq Pasha was formed to investigate the case.Body found on railway tracksOn Sunday morning, railway police alerted investigators after finding a mutilated body on tracks near Bidadi in Bengaluru South.An Aadhaar card found nearby identified the deceased as Ramanjinappa.By then, a statewide alert had already been issued as police searched for him in connection with the burning car case.On Sunday afternoon, Saroja’s husband registered a formal complaint against Ramanjinappa, accusing him of killing his wife.Police are now probing the sequence of events that led from a weekend outing to a double death investigation across two locations.