Rajajingar murders: How did the accused transport bodies across locations without being detected?

At least three trips with seven bodies in the car to four different locations, and one of them an inter-State journey. Yet, the accused in the alleged Rajajinagar murders, Indushekhar, was never detected. This has raised questions about the effectiveness of the nakabandi (checkpoints) and night patrolling system in the city.

Indushekar, prime accused in the case where he killed his wife and six others from her family, resided in a building near (barely 100 metres) the famous Bhashyam Circle in Rajajinagar. The junction is barely 3 km from Majestic, the city’s transport hub. It connects to Chord Road, one of the major roads in the city. The junction also provides connectivity between the central, western and southern parts of Bengaluru.

The accused allegedly brought the bodies down from the second floor and transported them to Mysuru, deep into the Western Ghats (Shiradi Ghat), to the Tamil Nadu border and to Chickballapur.

The alleged incidents unfolded over 15 days. Neither a patrolling vehicle nor a checkpoint detected the accused, even as he crossed State borders. The development comes amid frequent police checks at night across the city. In several instances, there have also been allegations of harassment during such checks.

In the police diary

A senior police officer told The Hindu that the accused’s movement with bodies in the car was among the questions on their investigation list, though it was not their immediate focus.

“A team has already been deployed to recreate all the movements of the accused and gather footage of his movements after October 16. We will verify whether he passed any checkpoints in the city and whether there was any negligence on the part of officers,” he said.

The officer stressed that the immediate focus was on recovering the bodies, as they were the prime evidence in the case. Any dereliction of duty could be investigated at a later stage.

The officer further said that they suspect the accused deliberately avoided stretches where checkpoints were set up. “We must also consider that all vehicles are checked at checkpoints. He may have passed through one,” the officer added.

“We also suspect that he avoided toll plazas. For a person who meticulously planned how to clean the crime scene thoroughly, he must have planned the routes in advance and executed the disposals accordingly,” the officer said.

A past case

The officer also pointed to a murder cover-up in a case reported in C.K. Acchukattu in 2025. The body was found dumped in a garbage pile. However, the accused had transported it from Madiwala to C.K. Acchukattu. What was even more surprising was that the accused had carried the body alone on a scooter.

“Only when we interrogated the accused did we get to know that he had deliberately avoided routes with police checkpoints,” the officer said, adding that there had been several such instances in the past.

Similarly, the family of Nalini, one of the victims in the present case, alleged that the Srirampura police initially refused to register a missing-person complaint on November 1. It was registered only on November 3.

A senior police officer confirmed that an inquiry had been initiated into the matter and that an assistant commissioner of police-rank officer was conducting it.