Man murders mentally-ill woman, rapes her body in Kolar, arrested

Police said that the incident took place on September 24 when Suhail lured the woman into his auto on the pretext of dropping her home

An auto-rickshaw driver has been arrested for allegedly murdering a 50-year-old mentally-ill woman and then raping her at Mulbagal taluk in Kolar district, police officers aware of the matter said on Friday.

The accused was identified as Syed Suhail, a resident of Mulbagal. (Representational image)

The accused was identified as Syed Suhail, a resident of Mulbagal, they added.

Police said that the incident took place on September 24 when Suhail lured the woman into his auto on the pretext of dropping her home. Instead of heading towards her locality, he drove her in the opposite direction to a secluded area near Hydari Nagar, they added.

When the woman realised that the driver was taking her in the wrong direction, she attempted to escape by jumping from the auto. Suhail stopped the vehicle and as she tried to flee, Suhail picked up a boulder and struck her on her head, killing her on the spot. After committing the murder, Suhail placed the victim’s body back into the auto and drove her to a remote area, where he sexually assault the corpse, police said.

Kolar superintendent of police B Nikhil said, “The victim’s family reported her to be missing, following which police initiated a search operation. After reviewing over 100 CCTV footages, we identified Suhail’s auto near the crime scene on the night of the incident.” Following a manhunt, Suhail was arrested on Monday in Murugamalla near Chikkaballapur.

“We have booked him under the BNS section 103 and will add further charges after getting the medical reports,” the SP added.

During interrogation, Suhail confessed to both the murder and the subsequent rape, police said.