The police arrested C. Dharani Kumar (25) who was accused of murdering his friend recently in Malleshwaram, here on Friday. Initially, the police had taken the death of the victim to be owing to accidental injuries.

V.N. Srinivasa (26), a resident of Srirampur, was the victim. He was found lying in front of a bar with injuries in his stomach last Sunday. He was shifted to a private hospital where he died. Earlier, the police thought the victim was injured after he fell on an iron rod.

But V.N. Murugesh, brother of the deceased, got to know about the murder from Srinivasa’s friends and informed the police thereupon. After the autopsy report, which confirmed murder, a corresponding case was registered.

The police on Friday arrested Dharani, a resident of Bhashyam Nagar in Nelamangala, and recovered a knife and a motorcycle in his possession.

According to sources, the accused had stabbed the victim during a drunken brawl. Srinivasa had been to a bar on Sunday night and was standing with friends near Sampige Talkies in Malleswaram, when the accused accosted him on his motorcycle. A quarrel ensued between the two in which Dharani pulled out a knife and allegedly stabbed Srinivasa in the stomach, and escaped from the spot.

The victim, who was profusely bleeding, was shifted to a hospital. Based on Murugesh’s complaint, the police detained a few of Srinivasa’s friends and quizzed them. During the course of interrogation, they reportedly came out with the truth behind Srinivasa’s death. Later, the police laid a trap and arrested the accused, said an officer at the Malleshwaram police station.

Keywords: BangaloreMurder