Youth who attacked colonel’s brother bragged his dad is a cop: Bereaved kin

BENGALURU: One of the three youths booked for killing their 54-year-old neighbour over a music-related row allegedly claimed that he was the son of a senior police officer, while another said he was an advocate, bereaved family members have claimed.
Assaulted by the trio in the early hours of Sunday, Lloyd Nehemiah, younger brother of Col David Nehemiah who is serving in Kashmir and is a resident of Vignan Nagar, HAL, died on Tuesday. Jurisdictional HAL police who had booked the trio — Ram Samanth Rai, Basudev Samanth Rai and Abhishek Singh — for assault have now charged them with murder and are on the lookout for them.
According to K Aneesh, Lloyd’s nephew who was present at the scene of crime, one of the accused said no one would dare to touch him because he is a son of a DGP. However, he did not say in which state his father is serving. Another accused said he is an advocate. Aneesh said the accused beat Lloyd with wooden logs.
The investigation officer probing the case said: “We are verifying the claim of the accused.” At present, police cannot ascertain if he is the son of a DGP or any senior-rank police officer, he added. Police said one of the accused has fled to his hometown in Odisha.
Around 4am on Sunday, the trio was playing loud music and Lloyd, who stayed in the opposite house, asked them to lower the volume. The three youths, allegedly drunk, stepped out and stood before Lloyd’s house. They abused Lloyd and dared him to come out.
When Lloyd stepped out, the trio assaulted him. His sister and two other neighbours who came to his rescue too were bashed up. Alerted about the scuffle, Hoysala beat police arrived and escorted Lloyd and others to safety. Lloyd’s aged mother began choking and was admitted to hospital.
On Tuesday, Lloyd’s left leg began swelling and he was admitted to the hospital. He complained of uneasiness and breathing difficulties and was unable to even move head. When he was being shifted to another hospital, he died in the ambulance. Autopsy report will confirm the cause of death, said police.
Cops said they have not made any arrest in the case. On the day of the incident, Hoysala police took Lloyd to the station to register the complaint. He also underwent medical tests and secured a medical certificate.
Police said it may take a little while to nab the accused but they are tracking them. Colonel David Nehemiah wondered why police did not arrest the accused on the day of the incident despite his brother filing a complaint and sharing all evidence, including photos and videographs.
I too was slapped: Sister
Lloyd’s sister who didn’t wish to be named said her brother was an avid social worker and during Covid helped hundreds of people. “When he was beaten up, I intervened and I too was slapped...,” she added. She said when the fight started, there were three people. Later, three other friends joined them. When police arrived, the three who had joined later fled the scene.