Bengaluru, Nov 12 — The Bengaluru police are examining legal options regarding the daughter of accused Indushekar in the shocking mass murder case, as she was a minor at the time of the alleged crime but has recently turned 18. The police are also verifying documents to confirm her age.
Police said on Thursday that they are further contemplating seeking the opinion of legal experts and are also examining previous court judgments to determine the course of action against her.
According to police, the law provides for an assessment in certain cases involving accused persons aged between 16 and 18 who are alleged to have committed serious offences such as murder and in rarest of the rare cases, based on whether they were capable of understanding the consequences of their actions.
The police are examining whether any special legal provisions could be applicable in the present case, considering the gravity of the alleged crime. The investigators are also assessing the mental capacity of Indushekar's daughter.
If the police are unable to proceed under provisions applicable to serious offences involving persons aged between 16 and 18, she may have to be produced before and dealt with by the Juvenile Justice Board. Police would also require the permission of the Juvenile Justice Board to question her in connection with the case.
The investigators are currently questioning the accused over her alleged role in the deaths of seven members of her family and her alleged assistance to her father in carrying out the killings.
She is accused of joining hands with her father and assisting him in the killing and disposal of the body of her mother. Police suspect that she allegedly helped lure her relatives, including her father's mother-in-law, her own uncles and aunts, to the house.
According to the investigation, she allegedly contacted the relatives and invited them home, saying that she wanted to have non-vegetarian food as her mother had gone elsewhere.
Police suspect that after her father allegedly killed the relatives at the house, she assisted him in disposing of the bodies at different locations in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The police have also searched the accused's house and are examining documents to reconfirm her age at the time of the alleged offences.
The investigation is continuing as the police seek to establish the daughter's exact role in the alleged killings and examine the legal provisions applicable to her based on her age at the time of the crime.
It can be noted that police have recovered all seven bodies in the murder case involving members of a single family, with the investigation now focussing on establishing the motive behind the killings.
Indushekar, who has been brought to Bengaluru, reportedly told investigators during preliminary questioning that mental harassment by his wife and her family, along with property-related disputes, drove him to commit the murders.
However, police suspect that there could be other motives behind the crime and are cross-checking his statements to gather further information.
Police teams, accompanied by the accused, conducted searches in different parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to recover the bodies. After working day and night for four days to trace the victims and complete the necessary procedures, police recovered all seven bodies. The bodies were handed over to the respective families after legal formalities, and the final rites have been performed.
Based on information provided by the accused, a police team reached the dense forest region of Shiradi Ghat, spread across parts of Hassan and Mangaluru districts, on Monday and recovered the bodies of his brother-in-law Shankar and sister-in-law Nalini. Police had earlier recovered five bodies, including that of a 10-year-old boy.
The bodies of Indushekar's wife Sunitha and mother-in-law Roopavathi were traced near Salem in Tamil Nadu. The bodies of his brother-in-law Shivakumar and sister-in-law Divya were recovered from two locations in the gorges beside the road at Chamundi Hills in Mysuru. The body of 10-year-old Puneeth, Shankar's son, was found near Nandi Hills on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Indushekar, also known as Indu Shekar or Sekar, was arrested by the Rajajinagar police in connection with the alleged murders. The victims were identified as his wife Sunitha, mother-in-law Roopavathi, brothers-in-law Shivakumar and Shankar, sisters-in-law Divya and Nalini, and Puneeth.
The murders are suspected to have taken place over around 20 days, between October 14 and November 3. Investigators suspect that the accused brought his wife's relatives to his house in the Rajajinagar-Bhashyam Circle area on the pretext of family gatherings before allegedly killing them and transporting their bodies to different locations.
Police are also questioning his daughter and verifying her statements as part of the investigation. A 10-year-old boy reportedly survived the incident. Investigators are continuing their efforts to establish the exact motive behind the killings and verify the accused man's claims.