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Accused's digital skills baffle Bengaluru police in 13-year-old boy's kidnap-murder case: Report
Suspect Gurumurthy's digital tactics, learned from his police brother, thwarted the investigators' traditional tracking methods.
When police arrested the suspects behind the shocking kidnap and murder of a 13 year old Bengaluru boy and began investigations, they were left puzzled by one pressing question: How did a simple driver manage to skillfully wield technology like virtual private networks (VPN) and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) to mask his tracks during the ransom call?
Cops believe Gurumurthy may have picked up these digital tricks from his brother, a police constable with experience in the Bengaluru City Police social media division, who is now posted at an embassy in the Middle East, The Times of India reported.
At first, police thought Gurumurthy was an experienced criminal; he hid behind a foreign phone number while calling the parents of the deceased school boy Nischith, demanding ₹5 lakh for the boy's release.
According to one officer, Gurumurthy contacted the victim’s mother only once through a WhatsApp voice call, while the rest of the communication switched to WhatsApp texts. Curiously, he typed in English, yet the recipient read the messages in Hindi.
Despite their efforts, police found traditional tracking methods useless, as Gurumurthy used VPN and VoIP tech to cover his digital trail, the report said.
READ | 13-year-old Bengaluru boy's charred remains found after abduction for ransom: Report
Inspector Kumaraswamy B G and his 20-person team had to work swiftly, as Gurumurthy kept moving between neighbourhoods and sometimes vanished from the grid to avoid being caught, it added.
Law enforcement responded with their own tech arsenal, getting help from the state’s intelligence branch and the Central Crime Branch. After a prolonged chase, DCP Narayana obtained a clue about an alternate mobile number Gurumurthy was using, leading to his eventual capture.
Senior officers expressed surprise at Gurumurthy's digital prowess. He outmanoeuvred cops at every step. He was careful, using all possible tactics during ransom negotiations. Once he recovers from his gunshot wound, we’ll interrogate him further, an official said, as quoted by the publication.
