Belgaum: Twelve days after the gruesome murder of a 57-year old man, Karnataka Police Thursday have arrested his wife, daughter and the latter's boy friend who admitted to have schemed the murder after taking lessons from the movie Drishyam (originally made in Malayalam, adapted to Tamil and Hindi later).
Police said the deceased identified as Sudhir Kamble, (57), a Dubai returnee and a realtor. He had been hacked to death with multiple stabs by Akshaya Vithakar, (25), a resident of Pune, they said. He had gone back to Pune after committing the murder and joined duty back as a receptionist in a hotel there.
Police said Kamble who had returned from Dubai following the Covid pandemic and had taken up real estate business has been reportedly "abusive" towards his wife Rohini. Unable to withstand her husband's abuse, she shared it with her daughter Sneha who is studying hotel management in Pune.
"Sneha, during one of her visits home, earned her father's wrath after he learnt about her friendship with Vithakar. Kamble warned her to sever her ties with the Vithakar and focus on her studies so that she could make a career," police said.
An upset Sneha shared her experience with Vithakar and told him that she wanted her father to be removed from her life. Vithakar agreed and the duo took Rohini on board for the murder plan. The three decided to do it "academically" and took lessons from Drishyam.
On September 15, Vithakar had come to the town from Pune. He stayed in a hotel and was waiting for the opportune moment to carry out the murder. His accomplices Rohini and Sneha had left the backdoor open for Vithakar to enter and scoot after the murder.
As per the plan, Vithakar entered the house on September 17. He went to the room of Kamble who was asleep by then. Vithakar stabbed Kamble in stomach, neck and face and fled as per their plan. He vacated the hotel room and then went back to Pune.
The trio thought they will be able to pass it off as a murder due to a business rivalry arising out of realty deals in the town. Police sources said the absence of forced entry gave way for the insider job angle which they constantly pursued. Sustained interrogations revealed that that the trio had carefully crafted the murder plan and had executed the same except for their escape from getting caught for the offence.
"Vithakar had come to Kamble's house on September 17 using the backdoor which had been intentionally left open. He went to Kamble's room killed him and went back to Pune. The next morning the mother and daughter approached the police and reported the murder. Now, we have taken arrested all three of them for plotting and murder," Deputy Commissioner of Police Ravindra Gada said.
