Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Jun 10: The shocking discovery of a 17-year-old girl's body, found stuffed into a suitcase and abandoned near railway tracks at Chandapura, has revealed a grim tale of betrayal and violence. Police investigations have uncovered that the teenager, who was lured from her home in Bihar under the false pretense of marriage, was murdered after she refused to engage in a physical relationship.
The victim's body, enclosed in a suitcase, was located on May 21 near a railway bridge close to Anekal. The Suryanagar police initiated a probe, leading to the apprehension of eight suspects, including a minor, from a hideout in Bihar.
The primary accused has been identified as Ashiq Kumar, a factory worker residing in Kachanayakanahalli. Kumar brought the girl to Bengaluru on May 18. Despite being married with two children, he falsely promised to divorce his wife and marry the girl, even vowing to establish a separate residence for them, thus convincing her to travel with him.
Investigators detailed that Kumar took the girl to a house belonging to his relative, Mukesh Kumar, where he attempted to force her into a physical relationship. Upon her resistance, Kumar assaulted her with a beer bottle before strangling her to death.
Following the murder, Kumar allegedly tried to stage the incident as a suicide. He contacted Mukesh and others, claiming that the girl had hanged herself and that he had gained entry into the house by breaking a window after witnessing the scene. The house owner, who lived in the same building, grew suspicious upon hearing the commotion and took photographs of all eight individuals who arrived at the house. These photographs later proved to be crucial evidence in the police investigation.
The accused then placed the victim's body into a suitcase, hired a taxi, and disposed of it near the railway bridge, according to the investigators. Kumar has been charged with murder, while the others face charges of being accomplices and attempting to destroy evidence.
The turning point in the case occurred when a photograph of the deceased circulated widely on social media. Her parents, upon seeing the image, contacted local police in Bihar, leading to the swift arrest of all eight suspects. Police officials have condemned the crime as a horrific instance of betrayal and violence, further compounded by the deliberate efforts to mislead the investigation.