In a crime spanning two states, police arrested two repeat offenders on Tuesday while uncovering the murder of a 30-year-old engineer, Srinath, who reportedly went missing from Karnataka's Bengaluru and was found buried inside a house in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district.
Originally from Chittoor district's Kuppam, Srinath had been living with his wife and child in Bengaluru's Anekal area. He had lent about Rs 40 lakh to his relative, Prabhakar, who had promised to "double the money."
When Srinath began asking for his money over the last three months, Prabhakar, say police, hatched a murder plan with his associate Jagadish.
According to police, Prabhakar called Srinath to Kuppam, promising to return the money. Once Srinath reached Kuppam, he was hit on the head with a hammer and killed, police said. Prabhakar and Jagadish, police said, then dug a pit inside the house and buried the body.
When Srinath didn't return for two days, his wife filed a missing complaint at Attibele Police Station.
Initially, Prabhakar claimed innocence and even told the police to check mobile records. However, as the police investigated the matter further, they found that both Prabhakar and Jagadish had a history of prior murders.
While Prabhakar had earlier murdered his wife's friend over a money dispute, Jagadish had killed his girlfriend in another case, police said.
During interrogation, both men confessed, leading police to the buried body in Kuppam.
Police recovered the body, and further investigation is underway.
