Drugged, heads bashed in with stone: How Bengaluru cabbie killed wife, 6 relatives

The Bengaluru serial murders case has thrown up more unsettling revelations, with police piecing together how a cab driver allegedly killed his wife and six other relatives in a 15-day killing spree.According to police, the accused, Indushekhar, drugged his victims, bludgeoned them with a grinding stone, stuffed their bodies into plastic bags before dumping them at isolated locations across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. He would then return home, clean up and prepare for the next murder. His daughter, a minor, allegedly helped him conceal the crimes.Four bodies have been recovered so far, and searches are underway for the remaining victims. Police said the accused confessed to the killings during interrogation.KILLED WIFE FIRST, MOTHER-IN-LAW 2 DAYS LATERCops believe the killings began following frequent domestic disputes between Indushekhar and his wife, Sunita, with whom he had been married for around 20 years. According to the police, Sunita, who was around 12 years younger than her husband, frequently quarrelled with him and allegedly questioned his masculinity. The remarks reportedly left him humiliated and resentful.Following another argument on October 14, Indushekhar decided to kill her. He purchased sleeping pills, plastic bags and ropes to execute his plan. On the night of October 16, he reportedly prepared non-vegetarian food, consumed alcohol and allegedly mixed an intoxicating tablet into the alcohol given to Sunita. After she lost consciousness, he struck her on the head with a grinding stone, killing her. His daughter witnessed the murder and was later persuaded to help conceal it, police said.Sunita's body was packed in a plastic bag and kept inside the bedroom.The next day, Sunita's mother, Roopavathi, repeatedly tried calling her daughter. When her phone remained switched off, she contacted Indushekhar, who told her that Sunita was home and invited her over.Roopavathi arrived at his home in Rajajinagar on October 18. When she asked about her daughter, Indushekhar reportedly gave evasive answers. His daughter then served her grandmother non-vegetarian food and alcohol.While Roopavathi was eating, Indushekhar turned up the television volume and struck her on the head from behind with the grinding stone, killing her, police said.The father-daughter duo allegedly packed her body in a plastic bag. On the night of October 19, they transported both bodies in their car and dumped them in the ghat section between Salem and Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu. The accused allegedly retained the victims' mobile phones.BROTHER-IN-LAW, HIS WIFE AND SON KILLED NEXTOn October 23, Indushekhar's brother-in-law Shivakumar tried contacting his sister and mother but received no response. When he called Indushekhar, the latter allegedly claimed that Sunita and Roopavathi had gone on a trip and invited him home for a meal.Shivakumar arrived at the house on October 24 with his wife Divya and son Puneeth, unaware of what had happened. The accused allegedly served the couple food and alcohol mixed with sleeping pills. While Divya and Puneeth went to sleep in the bedroom, Shivakumar slept in the hall.Shivakumar died first. Indushekhar struck him on the head with a grinding stone, while his daughter allegedly helped pack the body and keep it in the kitchen.In the early hours of October 25, Divya woke up to use the washroom. When she asked about her husband, Indushekhar attacked her with the grinding stone, killing her. Puneeth rushed out after hearing his mother's screams and was also murdered. The bodies were packed in plastic bags.On October 27, Indushekhar and his daughter transported all three bodies in the car's boot. Shivakumar and Divya's bodies were dumped near the foothills of Chamundi Hills in Mysuru, while Puneeth's body was brought back to Bengaluru.To mislead the family, the accused allegedly sent a message to Divya's mother from her phone, claiming that they had gone on a trip.SON WATCHED AS PARENTS’ BODIES DISPOSED OFOn October 31, Sunita’s other brother Shankar tried contacting her, their mother and Shivakumar but received no response. He then called Indushekhar, who allegedly told him that the family had gone on a trip and invited him home.Shankar arrived on November 1 with his wife Nalini and son Yateen. The accused allegedly served the couple food and alcohol mixed with sleeping pills.After they fell asleep, Indushekhar hit Shankar and Nalini on their heads with a grinding stone, killing them. Their bodies were packed in plastic bags.However, the sleeping pills reportedly did not work as effectively as the accused had expected -- Yateen remained awake.According to investigators, Yateen came out of the room to urinate just as Indushekhar was preparing to attack. The accused allegedly told the boy that nothing had happened and asked him to wait outside for two minutes.He then attacked the sleeping Shankar with the grinding stone.Indushekhar reportedly postponed his alleged plan to kill Yateen as he was occupied with disposing of the bodies. Instead, he took the boy along while dumping them.In the early hours of November 2, Shankar and Nalini's bodies were dumped near Shiradi Ghat, around 260 km from Bengaluru. The accused also took Puneeth's body, which had been kept in the car, and dumped it near Nandi Hills.MISSING PERSONS COMPLAINT LEADS COPS TO ACCUSEDWith so many members of the family unreachable, relatives approached police on November 2. A missing persons complaint was lodged the following day by Thungamma, Nalini's mother.During the investigation, police analysed mobile phone tower data and found that the phones of six missing family members had shown network activity in the same location. Indushekhar's phone was also active in the area, raising suspicion about his involvement.On November 4, police tracked him to Halasuru Gate, where he had gone to get documents photocopied. He was travelling in his Etios car with his daughter and Yateen.As police surrounded the vehicle, Indushekhar fled, leaving behind the car with the boy and girl inside. Police rescued Yateen and questioned Indushekhar’s daughter. The accused was arrested later that evening.During interrogation, he reportedly confessed to killing his wife and six members of his extended family. Police also claim that he had planned to murder two more people, including Yateen.FOUR BODIES RECOVERED SO FARFollowing Indushekhar’s alleged disclosures, police recovered Sunita and Roopavathi's bodies from Tamil Nadu’s scenic Yercaud Ghat, around 200 km from Bengaluru. Shivakumar and Divya's bodies were subsequently recovered from the foothills of Chamundi Hills in Mysuru.Four bodies have been traced so far. Police are continuing the search for the remaining victims, including Puneeth, Shankar and Nalini.The post-mortem examinations of Sunita and Roopavathi have been completed in Salem, and their bodies are being transported to Bengaluru after legal formalities. The post-mortems of Shivakumar and Divya are scheduled in Mysuru.MURDERS PLANNED, EXECUTED IN STAGESCops believe Indushekhar followed a systematic pattern, first targeting his wife and mother-in-law, then his brother-in-law's family and finally Shankar's family.His alleged modus operandi involved serving victims food and alcohol mixed with sleeping pills or intoxicating substances, waiting for them to become unconscious and attacking them with a grinding stone. He would then pack the bodies in plastic bags, transport them in his car and dump them at isolated locations, mostly at night.After returning home, he cleaned the premises and rested before planning the next set of killings.Police have seized the Etios car allegedly used to transport the bodies. The vehicle had a 'PRESS' sticker and reportedly contained a police station report document.It had accumulated traffic fines of Rs 14,900 for violations, including no-parking offences, not wearing seat belts and jumping traffic signals. Interestingly, no traffic violations were reportedly recorded between October 16 and October 31.Police are continuing to search for the remaining bodies and are verifying the accused's statements against CCTV footage, mobile phone records and other evidence.- Ends