Four held for killing businessman, loot worth Rs 4.9 crore recovered

BENGALURU: The Chamarajpet police have arrested four in connection with the murder of a 74-year-old businessman and have recovered items worth over Rs 4.93 crore. The accused are Bijaram (24), who was working in the victim’s electric shop, Puran Ram Devasi (26), who owns a hardware shop in Goa, Mahendra Devasi (27), who ran a jewellery shop in Rajasthan, and his brother Om Prakash Devasi (24), who worked at an apparel shop in Chickpet. All the four hail from Pali district, Rajasthan.

Jugraj Jain, a resident of Chamarajpet, was living with his family members while the prime accused Bijaram was working with him for the last six months. He used to take Jain to his shop and drop him back home. On May 24 night, Jain was found murdered at his house when his family  had gone to Goa. The assailants had thrown chilli powder on his face, gagged him, and tied his hands before strangulating him and decamping with valuables worth a few crores of rupees.

“Bijaram, the key suspect, had gone missing after the murder. His photos were circulated to other states. On May 29, Bijaram was arrested by Amirgadh police of Gujarat. He was found in possession of Rs 8.48 lakh in cash, 252 gm of gold jewels, 3.870 kg of silver biscuits and other articles,” the police said.

The Chamarajpet police took Bijaram into police custody after obtaining a body warrant from the court. “His interrogation led to the arrest of Puran Ram Devasi. 8.5 kg of gold jewels worth Rs 4.25 crore was recovered from him. Two more were arrested from Rajasthan and Rs 45 lakh in cash was recovered from the duo,” the police said, adding that efforts are on to trace one more accused. The probe revealed that Bijaram, who knew that his employer was a wealthy man, had discussed it with the other accused, who conspired to murder him and steal the valuables.