Bengaluru police on Wednesday arrested three people in connection with the gruesome double murder of two senior executives of a private firm, and are probing if business rivalry was the motive behind the crime, officers said.
The owner of a rival company is also under scanner for his role in the murders and is being interrogated, the officers added.
According to police, the accused – Santosh (26), Shabarish alias Felix (27) and Vinay Reddy (23), all residents of Bengaluru – were arrested from Kunigal, about 70km from Bengaluru. A special team was formed to nab the three.
The two victims – R Vinu Kumar (40), chief executive officer (CEO), and Phanindra Subramanya (36), managing director (MD) of Aironics Media Private Limited, a private internet service provider company – were stabbed to death by the three accused, in the presence of at least 10 other employees, inside their office in Pampa Extension near Hebbal at around 3.45pm on Tuesday.
According to Bengaluru Northeast deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Lakshmi Prasad, the prime accused, Felix, barged into the office along with the other two and held some discussion with Subramanya before attacking him with a machete. “When Kumar tried to intervene, he was also attacked,” the DCP said. After committing the crime, the three accused took a train from Majestic in Bengaluru to Kunigal, from where they were arrested, the officer said.
{{/usCountry}}According to Bengaluru Northeast deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Lakshmi Prasad, the prime accused, Felix, barged into the office along with the other two and held some discussion with Subramanya before attacking him with a machete. “When Kumar tried to intervene, he was also attacked,” the DCP said. After committing the crime, the three accused took a train from Majestic in Bengaluru to Kunigal, from where they were arrested, the officer said.
{{/usCountry}}The three have been booked under sections 302, 120b and 34 of IPC.
Police are also interrogating the owner of a rival internet service provider company in the case. The owner was picked up by police at Bengaluru airport, a police officer said. “One of the angles we are looking at is if he hired the three men to eliminate the MD and the CEO,” the officer said, asking not to be named.
Both the victims worked at that firm before resigning and setting up their own company, Aironics Media Private Limited, in November, the officer said.
Aironics provided services at a cheaper rate and recently expanded their business to Mysuru and Shivamogga. The company also hired several employees from the firm they were earlier working with, police added.
HT is not naming the company because it could not be reached for a statement.