Contract killing suspected in double murder

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The city police probing the double murder case arrested Arun Kumar, who had allegedly conspired to kill the top executives of Aeronics Media in the Amruthahalli Police Station limits recently.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru NorthEast, Laxmi Prasad, on Thursday told News Trail that Arun Kumar is suspected to have been involved in the conspiracy to commit the murders.

The deceased executives Phanindra and Vinu Kumar were earlier handling operations at the G-Net, a firm owned by Arun Kumar, on Bannerghatta Road. Later, the two started their own company, Aironics Media Private Limited in Pampa Extension, which triggered differences between the executives and Arun Kumar.

With the success of Aeronics Media, many G-Net employees moved to the new firm, and eventually, its customer base also grew.

Unable to cope with the success of his ex-employees, Arun Kumar had threatened Phanindra of dire consequences if he failed to wrap up his business “immediately”.

During one of their recent conversations, Arun had also warned Vinu Kumar and Phanindra that he knows several drug-addicts who can do anything for money, sources said. Arun Kumar's arrest comes after the police apprehended three persons, identified as Shabarish alias Felix, Vinay Reddy and Santhosh, for allegedly murdering CEO Vinu Kumar and MD Phanindra Subramanya.

DCP Prasad said that on Tuesday afternoon, the assailants brought a machete and several sharp weapons into the office in a bag. Since the office was small and based out of a residential space, there was no security on the premises.

After a discussion for about 15 minutes, Shabarish and his accomplices carried out the attack in which Phanindra and Vinu Kumar were killed. CCTV footage showed the three assailants rushing out through the Aeronics office gate at 4:14 pm that day.

They were later nabbed by the police at a lodge in Kunigal. The police said that Arun Kumar had been named in the FIR as the fourth suspect. Further probe is underway. 

Dont sensationalise case, warn cops

While attempts are being made to communalise the double murder case in the city, the Bengaluru police warned social media users to refrain from involving in such tactics.

Responding to a tweet which claimed that one of the victims, Phanindra Subramanyam, is a Hindu leader, the city police said, “Pertaining to this incident, the alleged accused have been arrested and an FIR has been registered at Amruthahalli Police Station. We request ‘namma’ public to refrain from sharing this incident further while the investigation is underway.”

As the general election is fast approaching, the Karnataka government has instructed the police to crack down on social media handles involved in sparking communal violence between communities.