This story is from September 15, 2020

Mandya police arrest five for priests' murder in swift operation

The arrests came hours after police nabbed their accomplices - Abhijit and Raghu, both 22 - from Gamanahalli village in the district.
Mandya police arrest five for priests' murder in swift operation
Mandya police tracked the gang members using barcodes on liquor bottles which they had left after murdering three priests
MANDYA: Three days after three priests of Arakeshwara temple were found murdered, Mandya police shot at and arrested three persons when they tried to attack a team of cops in the district's Maddur taluk, about 80km from Bengaluru, on Monday morning.
The arrests came hours after police nabbed their accomplices - Abhijit and Raghu, both 22 - from Gamanahalli village in the district.
Police tracked down the gang within 72 hours of the crime based on the barcodes of liquor bottles found in the temple courtyard, CCTV footage from a local wine shop and call records of the suspects.
The arrested duo led the cops to Borapura gate bus stand in Sadolalu village where the other accused - Viji, Manja and Gandhi, all in mid-twenties - were sleeping. The three-member police team led by sub-inspector Sharat cornered the trio around 5.30am and directed them to surrender.
The accused tried to flee and attacked the police personnel with weapons and stones. Cops claimed they opened fire in self-defence and shot at the accused in their leg. The injured accused were arrested and shifted to Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS). SI Sharat and constables Anil Kumar and Krishnakumar, who suffered stab injuries, are also being treated at MIMS.
"The 10-member gang split and decided to go in different directions after murdering the priests. We have nabbed five so far and five more will be arrested soon. We have recovered Rs 1.75 lakh from the arrested persons," police said.
Culprits had left liquor bottles at crime scene
According to police, Viji hails from Andhra Pradesh, Manja and Gandhi are from Toppanahalli and Arekaldoddi villages in Maddur taluk.
“We were shocked to hear gunshots. We never expected that killers of three priests would be hiding in our vicinity,” a Sadolalu villager said.

“After the murders in the temple, we found the culprits had left liquor bottles at the crime scene. We found out the liquor shop using the barcodes on the bottles. We identified the accused after checking the CCTV cameras in the shop. We studied the call data records in the temple area on the day the priests were murdered. We found that two numbers were active at odd hours. All these clues led us to the accused and we were able to arrest them based on scientific evidence,” a senior police officer told TOI.
Team earns praise
Superintendent of police Parashuram praised the team’s effort in nabbing the accused and met the injured cops at MIMS.
“We will question the arrested trio to find out about their accomplices and if they are involved in other crimes in the district,” the SP said.
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