Cops crack mystery behind Sumathi Prabhu murder ; arrest 3

Cops crack mystery behind Sumathi Prabhu murder ; arrest 3

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, April 22, 2014 :  The Suratkal police have succeeded in arresting all the three accused in the case of murder of a woman named Sumathi Prabhu at her house at Kulai in the month of February. Of the three one was an ex-tenant of Sumathi Prabhu.

Those arrested are Shivaram (20) of Rajasthan, Bahaddur Singh (22) and Shahanawaz (20) of Uttar Pradesh. Some of the looted jewellery have been seized from them.

Sumathi Prabhu (65) who was living all alone in her house at Kulai was brutally hacked to death and nearly 28 sovereigns of gold worth Rs 3.8 lakh were looted from the house. Locals who were terrified following the murder had staged protests twice demanding arrest of the killers.

Mangalore Police Commissioner  R Hithendra had formed a special squad to nab the culprits.

It is learnt Sumathi was living all alone after the death of her husband Damodar Prabhu.

Of the three arrested Shivaram was a tenant in a house owned by Sumathi around seven years ago. He was later residing in a house at Someshwar Fisheries Road and took the help of Bahaddur Singh   and Shanavaz, both working in a saloon, to execute the murder plot.

 It is learnt, on February 8, they had approached Sumathi seeking a house for rent and entered the house on the pretext of giving her advance.

Interrogations revealed that initially the three snatched the jewellery on the person of Sumathi and when she resisted hit her hard on her face and then slit her throat using a knife from the kitchen.

The accused had fled to Rajasthan later on.

They had sold some of the looted jewellery in Rajasthan and had brought the rest to Mangalore with an intention of selling them.