In 22 years, Karnataka saw 120 political killings

BENGALURU: Karnataka has seen at least 21 political murders between Jan 2018 and June 2022, official data reviewed by TOI shows, reports Chethan Kumar. Data since 2000 shows the state witnessed 120 such killings
Two people have been arrested for allegedly murdering a woman inside her Devanahalli residence on July 15. Describing it as a murder for gain, cops said the men stole a safe containing Rs 13 lakh.
The accused - Dheeraj Kumar, 34, and Pashupati, 24, from Bhagalpur district in Bihar - were arrested from the northern state after they were identified based on CCTV footage. They had another accomplice, Savan Kumar, who remains at large.
According to police, the gang of three stabbed Anchala Tulasiyan, 57, at her residence behind Aishwarya Layout. Her husband Ajit Tulasiyan runs a hardware shop in Devanahalli.
She was home alone at the time and the incident came to light late in the evening, when her daughter and son-in-law returned from the hardware shop.
Police said Savan Kumar and Pashupati were Ajit's employees for a while before quitting about four months ago. They used to live on the ground floor of Ajit's residence when they were his employees. The duo knew Ajit's wife would be alone at home during the day and hatched a plan to loot valuables after killing her.
They took their friend Dheeraj's help, police said, adding the men had turned off CCTV cameras and taken away the DVR to prevent identification.
DCP (northeast) formed a special team headed by inspector Ramesh J to probe the murder. While looking into details of various people known to the family, the cops' attention turned to the two ex- employees of Ajit.
CCTV footage from nearby areas had captured the two men and Ajit identified Savan Kumar and Pashupati.