A horrific crime stemming from a local dispute has shaken the Nallurahalli neighbourhood in Bengaluru's Whitefield area. A six-year-old girl was found murdered, leading police on a rapid interstate investigation that ended with the arrest of a neighbour from a train in Odisha.
Discovery of the Crime and Police Search
The incident came to light on Tuesday night when the victim's father, Inzamul Sheik, a daily-wage worker originally from West Bengal, approached Whitefield police to report his missing elder daughter, Shanaz Khatun. Treating it as a potential kidnapping, the police formed multiple teams and launched an intensive search operation involving around 40 personnel across Nallurahalli and nearby localities.
During the search, one team discovered a cloth bundle dumped in a dry drain near a temple on Nallurahalli main road. Upon opening it, they found the girl's body. The location was within a kilometre of her residence. Her father later identified the body. Preliminary investigation indicated the child had been strangled, with visible marks on her neck. A plastic wire was also found near the body.
Neighbour Emerges as Prime Suspect
As the investigation progressed, Sheik recalled a heated argument with his neighbour on Tuesday morning. Police later noticed the neighbour's family was missing and his phone was switched off. This raised immediate suspicion. A crucial breakthrough came from CCTV footage, which showed the victim walking with the neighbour's wife on Tuesday afternoon. This evidence led police to zero in on the neighbour and his family as the prime suspects.
Interstate Arrest and Second Tragedy
Acting swiftly on this lead, a police team tracked the fleeing family. On Wednesday, they successfully intercepted and deboarded the neighbour, his wife, and their minor son from a train at Cuttack railway station in Odisha. The suspect was produced before a court in Cuttack and is expected to be brought back to Bengaluru on Thursday.
In a separate but tragic incident in the same region, a 43-year-old farm worker, Y Manjunath, was found hanging from a tree at a farm in Mylapura, Hoskote, on Tuesday night. Manjunath was facing a police inquiry related to the disappearance of a woman coworker, Ashwini, from the same farm. Police had summoned him for questioning on January 3 as he was the last person to speak to Ashwini on her mobile and had transferred money online to her account. He had also confessed to being close to the missing woman.
Denying allegations of harassment, a senior police officer stated they had CCTV footage of the hour-long interaction with Manjunath, after which he was sent back. The investigation into both cases continues.
