Bangalore: Elderly Couple Murdered in Jayanagar

DHNS / Daijiworld Media Network 
 
Bangalore, Jan 11: 79-year-old retired deputy accountant general Y S Rangan and his wife Vasantha (75) were found murdered at their Jayanagar 3rd Block residence here on Saturday.  

In a chilling reminder of the vulnerability of elderly people, 79-year-old retired deputy accountant general Y S Rangan and his wife Vasantha (75) were found murdered at their Jayanagar 3rd Block residence here on Saturday.  The police suspect that  unidentified assailants killed the couple on Friday morning.

The victims had their throats slit with a sharp object. Rangan’s body was found in his bedroom  with a pen in his hand. Vasantha’s body was in the kitchen lying in a pool of blood.

The couple’s ghastly murder has sent shock waves across the neighbourhood and had the police searching for clues since no valuables were  reported missing. Suspicion then shifted to a possible property dispute. As Additional Commissioner of Police Gopal Hosur put it:  “With no signs of theft, the murder might have been committed over a dispute linked to property.”

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To lend credence to this theory, the police cited the couple’s plans to sell their house at Jayanagar. They  had agreed to an  amount running into crores with a buyer for their property.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Ramesh Chandra said the two were frequently visited by many members of the family. It is believed that the couple were dead for more than 24 hours. Their maid  did not get any reply when she  came for work on Friday morning. Even Rangan’s son-in-law, who lives at Indiranagar, did not get any response when he tried to contact them on the phone on Saturday.  Suspecting trouble, he rushed to the house only to find the couple dead. He immediately alerted the police. Rangan’s four children— Uma, Usha, Prasad and Aravind—living  separately in different parts of the City arrived later.

With no signs of forced entry into the house, the police believe the killers were known to the couple. The police deployed a dog squad which traced the scent up to 10th main. The police have begun interrogating a maid who had quit the Rangan household over a salary issue sometime ago.

Noted Kannada director and producer, Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar, a family friend of the couple, was among the hundreds who rushed to the house.