An accused in the murder of a Telangana businessman recently escaped from the custody of the Karnataka Police while being taken to the crime scene in Hyderabad for evidence collection. To make matters worse for the police, Ankur Rana also took away a walkie-talkie used by them.
Rana, who hails from Haryana, is among the three arrested for the alleged murder of Ramesh, 54, whose charred body was found in a private estate at Suntikoppa in Kodagu on October 8. Ramesh’s second wife Niharika and her acquaintance Dr Nikhil are the other two accused.
On October 31, the police, along with the three accused, arrived in Hyderabad to inspect the crime scene on the Uppal-Bhuvanagiri national highway. The team stayed at a hotel that evening. During their stay, Ankur allegedly broke free from his handcuffs and escaped through a third-floor window, taking a police communication device with him, according to the police.
After the businessman’s body was found, based on multiple leads, the police arrested Niharika, Rana and Nikhil. Niharika and Nikhil were apprehended in Bengaluru, while Rana was captured in Uttar Pradesh.
The police found that Niharika decided to kill Kumar after he refused her demand of Rs 8 crore. Driven by resentment, Niharika, with Rana’s help, devised a plan to murder Ramesh, the police said. She allegedly lured him to Uppal, Hyderabad, on October 1, where he was strangled to death, said the police.
Niharika and her accomplices allegedly transported the body to Kodagu, approximately 840 km away. They left it in a coffee plantation, covered with a blanket, and set it ablaze in an attempt to destroy evidence, said the police.
