Woman among 7 arrested for murder of rowdy-sheeter in Mysuru

Mysuru: A woman and six others were arrested on charges of the murder of a rowdy-sheeter, who was hacked to death on Monday morning.

The prime accused, Praveen, allegedly planned Karthik's murder out of fear for his life, as Karthik was threatening to eliminate him. The woman, a mother of two, who was allegedly in a relationship with Karthik, tipped off the gang about Karthik's whereabouts, leading to his murder, police said.

Karthik was staying in the hotel with a girl since May 1. The girl inside the room was unaware of Karthik's murder until the police arrived on the scene, police said.

N Vishnuvardhana, superintendent of police, said that all seven accused, including the woman who was a neighbour, were arrested within a day. Initially, it was suspected that the murder might have been over financial matters, but later it was revealed that personal enmity led to the murder, the SP stated.

Praveen, the prime accused working in Bengaluru, told police that he was living in fear for his life because of threats. Praveen earlier worked as a driver for Karthik, but they separated two years ago over differences involving the married woman, a mother of two girls. Since then, Karthik threatened Praveen that he would eliminate him and threatened his family, police said.

Months later, Praveen contacted opponents of Karthik, including Avinash, a listed rowdy, and conspired to eliminate Karthik. Venkatesh, Ravi, Chandu, and Anand allegedly joined them. The woman tipped off the gang about Karthik's whereabouts, according to the police.

Vishnuvardhana said Karthik, also a listed rowdy, was facing several criminal charges, including attempted murders, and district police listed him in the rowdy list. He was also convicted in a murder case but obtained bail after getting a stay on the conviction from the high court and was out on bail, the SP said.

Police formed three teams to crack the murder case, and the teams were successful in nabbing all the accused within a day. The accused allegedly used sharp weapons, including daggers, to attack Karthik in the dead of night around 1.40am on Monday, killing him on the spot.