Solving Crime: How a ‘beer party’ in a police station nailed a British woman’s rapist in Bengaluru

In the first week of January 1996, the Bengaluru city police received information that the body of a male foreigner had been dumped at an isolated place in Chandra Layout, Bengaluru West.

The police found a bill issued by a clothing store on MG Road in the pockets of the murder victim. After contacting the store, the police found out that the deceased was British national James William Stuart. The police also learnt that he was staying at Sudha Lodge in Cottonpet.

When the police reached the lodge, they found a 27-year-old British woman in Stuart’s room. B B Ashok Kumar, who was then a police inspector in JJ Nagar, recalled, “I was among the police personnel who visited the lodge. As she opened the doors, she broke into tears. Even before we could tell her that we had found Stuart’s body, she cried and told us that she had been raped by an autorickshaw driver. We were baffled for a minute and did not disclose the murder to her. We had thought that the persons who had killed Stuart had raped the woman, but later discovered that they were two separate incidents.”

British woman’s rape

The British woman told a Bengaluru court that she was in a relationship with Stuart and they had come to India to visit the Taj Mahal. Later, they came to Karnataka to visit Hampi, Belur, Halebeedu, and other places. In Bengaluru, the couple was staying in Sudha Lodge. On January 4, 1996, around 8 pm, Stuart and the woman went to a restaurant near Sudha lodge. Stuart experienced stomach pain while having dinner, and he said he would go back to his room. The woman, after finishing her dinner alone, headed to the lodge but lost her way.

Those were the days when there was no Google Maps or other facilities. After losing her way, the British woman hired an autorickshaw to go back to the hotel. The tired British woman fell asleep in the vehicle, and the autorickshaw driver, taking advantage of the situation, drove towards RR Nagar, which was then not a developed area like it is now.

Sensing something was amiss, she asked the driver to stop the autorickshaw, but he continued to drive. The woman was carrying a pen knife, and she stabbed the autorickshaw driver three times with it from behind, but the driver hit her back. After reaching a deserted place, he raped the British woman and hit her brutally before fleeing the spot.

Later, taking the help of a truck driver, the injured woman managed to reach the Central police station in Chamarajpet around 11.30 pm. There were two police constables on duty, but they did not understand English and instead helped her reach Sudha Lodge.

In his book, Buller Savari, Ashok Kumar observes that the police constables could have alerted senior officers, but they did not.

How a nurse helped police probe

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Praveen Sood, who was then the deputy commissioner of police, Bengaluru West, directed Ashok Kumar to probe the rape case, while another police inspector, Abdul Azeem, was asked to probe the murder of Stuart.

The news received a lot of attention in the international media, and questions were raised about the safety of foreigners in India, especially in Bengaluru.

Ashok Kumar said after the case was transferred to him, a new probe team was formed, and he took the victim to his residence. “She was in shock and trauma. I was living in an apartment. I took her to my house, introduced her to my wife and daughter. Gradually, she felt safe and started interacting with me and my family. In a couple of days, she was able to share what she had seen that day, which gave me a fair idea that the autorickshaw driver had taken Mysore Road.”

However, for the police, it was still challenging to zero in on the autorickshaw driver. “The only lead that I got is that the victim had stabbed the autorickshaw driver three times… I started visiting clinics and hospitals within 100 metres of RR Nagar, hoping to get some leads. A nurse from Kerala working at the Sowbagya Nursing Home near Azad Nagar said she had treated a person two days ago with injuries on his back. The patient had registered his name as Kadiresh, 28, but had not given his address,” Ashok Kumar remarked.

Armed with the information, the police team started contacting regional transport offices (RTOs). Those were the early days of computerisation in the RTOs, and the police got a massive lead at Rajajinagar RTO.

Ashok Kumar said, “Upon searching for Kadiresh at the Rajajinagar RTO database, we got his residence details and also his photo. Now, it was time to confirm. I got hold of the photo and went to Sowbagya Nursing Home. I showed four random photos (including that of Kadiresh) to the nurse, who correctly identified Kadiresh.”

The irony was that Kadiresh lived just behind the Kengeri Gate police station. The team raided his residence and managed to nab Kadiresh, and also seized the clothes that he was wearing on the day of the crime.

But even before Kadiresh could be taken to the police station, Ashok Kumar’s team was asked to bring the accused to the DCP’s office. Succumbing to mounting pressure from the media, the British High Commission, and the public, the case was transferred to the Corps of Detectives (COD), which was renamed the Criminal Investigation Department in 2009.

“It was really a big disappointment for me as well as the team. The COD officers were already at the DCP office. We handed over Kadiresh and case files related to the crime to the COD officers,” said Ashok Kumar.

A beer party in police station

After handing over Kadiresh to COD, Ashok Kumar and his team stayed away from the case. However, Kadiresh neither confessed to the rape incident nor did he speak when interrogated by COD officers.

Ashok Kumar said, “Though ‘police treatment’ (harsh methods like beating) was practised in local police stations, COD officers did not lay a hand on the accused or suspects during interrogation. Kadiresh continued to remain silent.”

COD officials then turned to Sood, seeking help from his staff. “Praveen Sood gave me directions to take Kadiresh into custody, but on certain conditions. I was told not to torture him as the case was sensitive. I met Kengeri Gate ACP B A Ponnacha and informed him about the DCP’s directions,” Ashok Kumar said.

Thereafter, Ashok Kumar, Ponnacha, and two officers from COD brought Kadiresh to the JJ Nagar police station. “We decided to become friendly with him. I asked him about his life and family, and whether he would want to drink alcohol. He said he only drank beer. I brought two beer bottles and, without his knowledge, mixed 180 ml of brandy in each bottle. He finished two bottles in 25 minutes. I then casually raised the topic of the British woman,” Ashok Kumar said.

“In a short span of time, we made him so comfortable that he started narrating the events of the day he had raped the British woman. He even patted Ponnacha on his shoulder, as if he were his childhood friend. But little did he know that the entire process was being recorded,” he added.

Conviction

The COD police had got what they wanted from Kadiresh, and then a charge sheet was filed against him before a special court in Bengaluru.

In the charge sheet, the victim’s statement, medical evidence, and statements of other witnesses, including that of the nurse, were included. In 1998, the court sentenced Kadiresh to life imprisonment.

“Nowadays, the police cannot even imagine doing such things in a police station,” Ashok Kumar said and, with a chuckle, added, “Those were the days.”

As for the confession recorded under the influence of alcohol, Ashok Kumar said there were many instances wherein such statements were accepted by the court, but they had to be backed by substantial evidence.

Based on the crime, a Kannada movie, Police Officers, was released in 2002.