(Trigger warning: Murder, violence)
Arun Kumar, the fourth accused in the Bengaluru double murder case – in which the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Aironics Media Private Limited were murdered at their office in Amrutahalli – was arrested on the night of Wednesday, 12 July, the police confirmed to The Quint.
Arun Kumar's arrest comes after the Bengaluru Police apprehended three persons – Shabarish (aka Felix), Vinay Reddy, and Santhosh (aka Santhu) – for allegedly murdering CEO Vinu Kumar and MD Phanindra Subramanyam.
The accused persons entered the office of Aironics Media, a broadband company located at Pampa Extension under Amrutahalli police station limits, at around 4 pm on Tuesday, 11 July, and allegedly stabbed the duo with a machete.
Laxmi Prasad, DCP North East Division, Bengaluru City told The Quint that Arun Kumar, who is the owner of a rival broadband company named G-Net, conspired with the three others to commit the murders over business differences. He had been absconding, as per the police.
"We are ascertaining his role in the crime. Prima facie, we suspect he was involved in the conspiracy to commit the murders," DCP Prasad said.
What Was the Motive?
Shabarish – who is the prime accused in the case – and Santhosh used to work with Phanindra and Vinu Kumar at G-Net, owned by the fourth accused Arun Kumar, as per the police.
However, Phanindra and Vinu Kumar – who were "instrumental in the management of G-Net" – started their own company, Aironics Media, in November 2022. This was reportedly due to alleged differences with Arun Kumar.
Phanindra and Vinu Kumar served as the owners and partners of Aironics Media, which has about 20 employees.
But with the success of Aironics Media, many G-Net employees moved to the new firm, and eventually, its customer base also grew.
As the business rivalry between the two firms heightened, Shabarish, Santhosh, and Vinay Reddy conspired with Arun Kumar to carry out the murder, the police suspect.
What Happened?
The police stated that the accused persons came to Phanindra's office on Tuesday afternoon, and waited for him to come back from his lunch break. They entered the office saying they wanted to join Aironics Media.
DCP Prasad told The Quint that the accused brought the machete into the office in a bag, and that since the office was small and based out of a residential space, there was no security on the premises.
Once Phanindra stepped into his office around 4 pm, they reportedly had a discussion with him for about 15 minutes.
Thereafter, the trio began attacking him with the machete, as per the police. When Vinu Kumar intervened, he too was attacked.
At least 10 other employees were present in the office when the attack happened, according to reports. Though they rushed the CEO and MD to a nearby hospital, they succumbed to their injuries.
As many as five teams were formed by the police to trace the accused persons, and they were arrested at Kunigal, near Tumakuru, at around 11 pm on Tuesday.
"We will verify the involvement of any other persons and the collection of further evidence to ascertain the exact motive," the police said.
A magistrate court on Thursday, 13 July, remanded Shabarish, Santhosh and Vinay Reddy in police custody for eight days for further investigation, DCP Prasad said.
'No Communal Angle'
Meanwhile, several social media users, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, claimed that one of the deceased, Phanindra, was a Hindu seer.
"Alarming situation in #Karnataka has arrived due to a Government that idolises tyrant #TipuSultan [sic]," BJP national secretary Sunil Deodhar tweeted.
However, DCP Prasad confirmed to The Quint that there's no communal angle in the case. "There is no communal angle. All accused are from the same community as the deceased," he said.
Responding to claims that Phanindra is a member of a Hindu organisation, he said: "The police aren't aware of any membership so far."
Prime Accused's Social Media Post
Shortly before the murder, prime accused Shabarish, who goes by the name joker_felix_rapper_ on Instagram, posted a message on the social media platform, saying he "hurt only bad peoples [sic]."
"Peoples always flatters and cheaters. So I hurt this planet peoples. I hurt only bad peoples. I never hurt any good people [sic'," the post read.
Shabarish has about 16,000 followers on the platform, wherein he claims to be a fashion model and a 'Kannada rapper'.
Speaking to The Quint, DCP Prasad said that the social media post is being looked into. "We will collect all the details from social media platforms as part of our investigation," he said.
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