Killers didn't know victim was a cop

They say constable Shashi Kumar had misled them; they wouldn't have murdered Thammaiah if they had known his true identity

They say constable Shashi Kumar had misled them; they wouldn't have murdered Thammaiah if they had known his true identity

The gang that hacked KPTCL vigilance officer K S Thammaiah to death didn't know he was a cop till they read the newspapers the next day.

Gang leader Shiva alias Shiva Kumar alias Rudra confessed to the police that constable Shashi Kumar who contracted them to kill Thammaiah had misguided them saying the victim was an employee of a private firm with whom he had an old score to settle.

Murder for murder

Rudra told police that Shashi Kumar had met him in Mandya Jail claiming to be a police inspector.

Shashi Kumar had promised to help Rudra eliminate his arch rival Velu who was waiting to avenge the death of his brother Subramanya as soon as Rudra stepped out of jail.

"I would not have killed Thammaiah if I had known that he was a senior police officer," Rudra told the police.

"We came to know he was a police officer the next day after reading the newspaper," he said.

He also said that Shashi Kumar had agreed to pay him Rs 1.5 lakh as supari amount but paid only Rs 50,000 as advance.

Shashi Kumar was arrested for kidnapping a medical student and sent to Mandya Jail one-and-a-half years back. The deceased Thammaiah, who was additional superintendent of police in Hassan district, had been instrumental in nabbing Shashi Kumar and his gang.

But Shashi Kumar continued to operate from the jail with the help of other criminal gangs, said a senior police officer investigating the case.

Diverting attention

Assistant commissioner of police (Yelahanka subdivision) Siri Gowri said Shashi Kumar tried to divert police's attention by getting one of the accused, Yesuraj, to surrender before the court and confess to Thammaiah's murder.

Yesuraj, an associate of Rudra, had dropped his mobile phone at the scene of murder. Fearing that he would be caught, Yesuraj appeared before the court and claimed responsibility for the murder.

However, the truth unfolded when police interrogated him. Yesuraj confessed that Rudra had promised him Rs 50,000 if he took on the blame.