Bengaluru cab driver held for murder of wife and six relatives, search on for six bodies

A 52-year-old Bengaluru cab driver has been arrested for allegedly murdering seven members of his wife’s family, including a seven-year-old boy, and dumping their bodies at different locations near the foothills of Nandi Hills in Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district, police said. The body of the boy has been recovered, while a search is underway for the other six victims.

The accused, identified as Indushekar alias Shekhar, a resident of Rajajinagar in Bengaluru, allegedly killed his wife Sunitha, her mother Roopavati, her brothers Shivakumar and Shankar, their wives Divya and Nalini, and Shivakumar’s son Puneeth.

According to the police, Shekhar invited his wife’s family members to his house individually over two days and allegedly killed them using a grinding stone.

The case came to light after Nalini’s mother approached the Sriramapura police in Bengaluru and filed a missing-person complaint, stating that her daughter was untraceable. During the investigation, police grew suspicious of Shekhar and questioned him, following which his alleged involvement in the murders came to light.

According to preliminary investigations, Shekhar married Sunitha around 20 years ago. The couple lived in a one-room house on the terrace of a building near Bhashyam Circle in Rajajinagar.

Police suspect that frequent arguments between the couple over Sunitha’s continued association with her parental family may have led to the murders. 

After questioning Shekhar, police took him to the foothills of Nandi Hills and launched a search operation. After several hours of searching, Puneeth’s body was recovered on Thursday.

According to reports, Shekhar allegedly dumped the bodies at multiple locations around the foothills, including an area near Chamrajpet Hills. The suspected dumping sites are along steep slopes, where bodies pushed down could fall deep into the forest, making them difficult to locate.

Police suspect that the bodies may have been pushed further into the forest, beyond areas regularly covered by personnel during beat patrols. Forest personnel are also assisting in the search, with teams checking multiple locations around the foothills.

Police are also investigating how the bodies were transported from Bengaluru and dumped near Nandi Hills.

An FIR has been registered and the investigation is underway. A special team comprising three Assistant Commissioners of Police has been formed to investigate the case and recover the remaining bodies.