The accused's house at Bashyam Circle in Rajajinagar. Photo: Raghu RD
Mutton biryani lure, grinding stone, 7 killed: Bengaluru’s house of horror
Police say a car driver who also posed as a newspaper editor lured relatives to dinner and killed them over two weeks, with his teenage daughter’s help
A chilling silence hung over the verandah when The Federal Karnataka team stepped into the house near Bashyam Circle in Rajajinagar, Bengaluru. In every dark corner of the home that police say claimed seven lives, there was evidence of a crime that would make anyone shiver.
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According to police, 52-year-old Indusekhar, alias Arjun, killed seven people, including his own wife, after nursing a 20-year family feud. Investigators say he did not act alone: his 17-year-old daughter, a PUC student, allegedly helped him.
Having posed as a crime reporter, he knew exactly how evidence is hidden, police say. The bodies were allegedly loaded into his Toyota Etios and dumped far from the city, curiously in hilly and ghat sections across two states: Yercaud in Tamil Nadu, Chamundi Hills in Mysuru, Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapur and Shiradi Ghat in Dakshina Kannada.
Kitchen, where the murder happened?
The first thing that hit us inside was the sharp sting of chemicals, used to scrub away blood. Then we saw the grinding stone. Police say it was the weapon used to crush seven skulls. It still lay at the scene, as ordinary as any household object.
Indushekhar claims he is also the editor and publisher of local Kannada monthly newspaper
The most disturbing detail was the kitchen. Despite the carnage the house allegedly witnessed, the utensils were arranged in neat, orderly rows. Everything pointed to a methodical attempt to wipe away every trace of murder. Yet papers and documents lay scattered across one room, caught by our camera.
Neighbours say the man was a car driver by profession. But outside his house hung nameplates reading 'Police News' and 'Station Report', and everywhere he went he introduced himself as the 'editor' of a newspaper.
Used 'media' as cover-up?
For years, neighbours say, they lived in fear of his blackmail and intimidation. Posing as an editor, he allegedly ordered local tenants to stop paying rent to the building’s real owner and pay him instead. A secret diary found near the house, with phone numbers of senior police officers, hints at the network he used to shield his schemes.
Police say Indusekhar suspected his wife Sunita’s conduct and, fuelled by two decades of family enmity, planned to kill nine people, including those who sided with her. Between October 16 and 31, he allegedly summoned them to the house one by one with the same line: “I’ve made mutton biryani. Come for dinner.”
Police say they were crushed to death with the grinding stone: Sunita, Rupavati, Nalini, Shankar, Shivakumar, Divya and Puneeth. Two others on his list escaped only because he never got to call them. The plot unravelled on November 3, when Nalini’s mother, Tungamma, filed a complaint after her family members suddenly vanished. City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said the accused has confessed to the seven killings.
Did two decades of marital discord lead to murders?
According to preliminary reports, Indushekhar and his wife had experienced ongoing marital disputes throughout their 20-year marriage. The accused was reportedly unhappy with his wife's close relationship with her parental family. He also allegedly resented what he perceived as excessive interference by his mother-in-law and brothers-in-law in the couple's personal matters. These issues reportedly led to frequent arguments between the couple. Police suspect that this resentment may have driven the accused to allegedly decide to eliminate the entire family.
Challenges before the police
Although the accused is currently in police custody, investigators still face several challenges: post-mortem examinations, the exact time of death, and whether the murders took place on a single day or over several days will need to be established through forensic reports.
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In addition, police are collecting CCTV footage from locations along the route between Rajajinagar and Chikkaballapur, along with the accused's mobile phone call records, to establish the sequence of events and gather further evidence. Special police teams have fanned out across the ghat regions to search for the rest.
