The Vijayanagar police in Bengaluru arrested a gym trainer, for murdering a Flipkart delivery man, allegedly for procuring a smartphone he could not afford.
On December 9, 22-year-old Varun Kumar attacked Nanjundaswamy with an iron rod and a flower pot when the latter went to the gym to deliver a smartphone Varun had ordered the previous day.
After slitting 29-year-old Nanjundaswamy’s throat, Varun later hid the body in the basement of Allahabad bank building on Saraswati nagar, the same building where the gym is located.
Varun reportedly kept the phone -worth Rs 12,000- that he had ordered and ten other parcels from the delivery man’s bag.
"It was a pre-planned murder. He had purchased a knife and a rod on the previous day. He would have attacked or killed the delivery man, no matter who it was. The delivery man had eleven parcels with him, of which six were items were women. He took those also. He also took around Rs 10,000 that the delivery man had with him," MN Anucheth, Deputy Commissioner of Police told TNM.
The incident came to light after Nanjundaswamy’s wife Lakshmi filed a missing person complaint at the Byatarayanapura police station after he failed to return home that day. Lakshmi was unable to contact Nanjundaswamy, as his mobile phone was switched off.
The police traced Nanjundaswamy back to where he had last gone for delivery and found his body in the basement of the building on December 11. Varun hadn't opened the gym ever since the murder, which had also raised suspicion. He was arrested earlier this week and he has reportedly confessed to the crime.
According to the police, Varun had joined the gym only a few days back and had hatched the plan after his father- a mechanic- refused to pay for a smartphone.
In a statement released on Thursday, Flipkart said:
"We are deeply anguished by the loss of one of our delivery associates and are focused at the moment on extending all possible support to his family to help them cope with this tragedy. The Flipkart group values the safety and security of its staff above all else and makes no compromises in this regard. Our workplaces and premises are closely and continuously monitored in order to prevent any risk to their safety. In view of this disturbing incident, we have initiated a review and will strengthen our on-field safety measures."