BENGALURU: A 34-year-old software engineer who went missing from Attibele on October 27 has been found murdered and buried inside an unoccupied house in Kuppam, about 125km away in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district.
The victim, Shrinath K, an Andhra native living with his wife and child in Smilee Celestial Layout near Neraluru, was allegedly killed by his cousin Prabhakar, 39, police said. The body was exhumed on November 16 from a house on the outskirts of Kuppam.
Prabhakar and his associate Jagadish, 35—both known history-sheeters from Kuppam—have been arrested.
Wife’s suspicion points police toward cousin
Shrinath’s wife, Neha M.P., filed a missing person complaint on November 1, telling Attibele police she suspected Prabhakar’s involvement. She said Shrinath had travelled to meet Prabhakar in Kuppam on October 27 and never returned.
Initially, Prabhakar denied meeting Shrinath and claimed he was in Bengaluru visiting another relative that day, even producing purported evidence to back his claim. Police briefly ruled out his involvement.
But Neha persisted, informing investigators that Prabhakar had convinced Shrinath during a housewarming ceremony to invest ₹40 lakh in his business, promising to double the money. Shrinath had borrowed the amount and handed it over.
Kidnapping case turns to murder probe
Acting on Neha’s continued insistence, senior officers upgraded the missing case to kidnapping. Prabhakar was arrested on November 13.
During interrogation, Prabhakar tried to blame Neha for the murder—an unexpected accusation that alerted police to foul play, since no one had previously suggested Shrinath was dead. Under sustained questioning, Prabhakar eventually confessed.
Hammer killing, secret burial
According to police, Prabhakar said he met Shrinath at a government housing colony in Kuppam, killed him by smashing his head with a hammer, and buried the body in one of the empty buildings with Jagadish’s help.
Prabhakar admitted that Shrinath had given him only ₹10 lakh, not ₹40 lakh. He claimed to have returned ₹5 lakh, but when Shrinath began pressuring him to repay the remainder, he decided to murder him.
