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Car mows down retired IB officer in Mysuru, cops suspect murder based on CCTV footage
The footage, which was widely shared on social media on Sunday, showed a car swerving sharply to its right and going off the street to hit RS Kulkarni, who was walking on the side of the road
The CCTV footage of what was initially thought to be a road accident, in which an 83-year-old former Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer died on Friday, has prompted the Mysuru police to register a case of murder.
The footage, which was widely shared on social media on Sunday, showed a car swerving sharply to its right and going off the street to hit RS Kulkarni, who was walking on the side of the road.
According to officials, the victim was on a walk in the Manasa Ganothri campus of the University of Mysore at around 5.30pm on Friday when the unidentified vehicle hit him. Kulkarni was rushed to a private hospital but succumbed to his injuries the same day, said Jayalakshmipuram police station inspector L Harish.
“The retired officer who served most of his tenure in the northern part of the country was staying on the Mysuru University campus. He went for a walk in the morning and evening every day,” Harish said.
“Initially, we thought he was hit by a vehicle accidentally,” the investigating officer said.
A hit-and-run case against an unidentified driver was filed at the Jayalakshmipuram police station, police said.
Police, however, added murder charges after the victim’s family cited the CCTV footage to say that he was hit intentionally.
“The victim was standing on the side of the road. CCTV footage shows that a car without a number plate came and intentionally hit him from behind and escaped,” news agency ANI quoted the police as saying.
Kulkarni’s family approached the police after the CCTV footage emerged.
“We cremated the body of our father-in-law thinking that it was an accident. But it has been found that a car purposely hit him. It is a murder. We are shocked after seeing the CCTV footage. We have filed a complaint with the police,” said Kulkarni’s son-in-law Venkatesh.
Further investigation is underway, Harish said. “Based on the complaint, we registered a case under section 302 (murder) of the IPC.”
A three-member team has been formed to probe the matter, Mysuru city commissioner Chandragupta told reporters.
“We got suspicious after we found that there was no number plate on the vehicle,” he said.
According to officials, Kulkarni retired 23 years ago after serving in the Intelligence Bureau for 35 years. He also worked with the Research and Analytics Wing (RAW), and was living in Mysuru where he authored several books.
He had authored three books, including ‘Facets of terrorism in India’ which was released by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The retired IB officer was a teacher in his initial days and went on to become a secret service agent with the Government of India. He worked on Indian diplomatic missions, the corporate world and even as a pilot.
(WITH AGENCY INPUTS)
