Son kills family over sister’s inter-caste marriage, misleads police with ‘missing persons’ complaint in Bengaluru; buries bodies at home

BENGALURU: The Tilaknagar police were grappling with a baffling case — a family of three had gone missing: Bheemaraj H, his wife Jayalakshmi J, and their daughter Amrita. Despite intensive searches, there was no trace of them. The person reporting the disappearance, 27-year-old Akshay BJ, appeared deeply worried, lamenting the police’s inability to locate his family. Police Inspector Vishwanath K was formulating the next steps when a sudden ringtone pierced the station. It came from Akshay’s trouser pocket. The color drained from his face. “Sir, I gave the ring to his sister’s mobile, and it’s ringing now,” said a constable. This startling moment shifted the investigation. Suspecting foul play, police searched Akshay and found three SIM cards — belonging to the supposedly missing family.

Joint Commissioner of Police-East, Ramesh Banoth, explained, “Tilaknagar police sensed something was off from the beginning. Akshay made contradictory statements and tried to mislead us on several points. We had been dialing the family’s numbers randomly, all switched off. But on January 30, while Akshay stepped out for tea, he switched on his sister’s phone to create the illusion they were in Bengaluru.” What seemed like a standard missing-person case quickly turned horrifying.

Akshay had brutally murdered his family. Using an axe, he slit their throats and buried them in a 10-foot-deep pit inside their Kottur residence in Vijayanagar. City police arrested Akshay along with his uncle Vasanth, who allegedly advised him on destroying evidence. Akshay runs a tyre-remoulding factory in his hometown, Kotturu. Deputy Commissioner of Police-South East, Mohammad Sujeetha, said, “We arrested two accused: Akshay and his uncle Vasanth.

Though Akshay claimed personal reasons, we are investigating all possible motives.” Investigators revealed that Bheemaraj had sold a property in Harappanahalli, Davanagere, for Rs 1.2 crore. Akshay had spent a portion of the proceeds without Bheemaraj’s knowledge. The crime unfolded over several days. On January 26, Akshay killed his mother in the afternoon, hiding her body in a bedroom. In the evening, he murdered his sister, and that night, he killed his father.

He covered the bodies with a bedsheet and traveled to Bengaluru by KSRTC bus the next morning, leaving his mobile at home while carrying his family’s phones. In Bengaluru, Akshay took photos near Jayadeva Hospital and sent them to his phone, fabricating a narrative that his family was visiting for Bheemaraj’s health checkup. Over the next two days, he dug the pit using a drilling machine, keeping the TV volume high to mask the noise.

On January 29, he returned to Bengaluru, met his uncle, and filed a missing-person complaint to mislead the police. The breakthrough came on January 30 when the constable’s call to Amrita’s number rang from Akshay’s pocket. Tilaknagar police alerted Vijayanagar counterparts, recovered the bodies, and recorded the operation on video. Akshay is now in 10-day police custody for further questioning, while his uncle Vasanth has been sent to judicial custody.