Bengaluru advocate’s death initially suspected to be heart attack, turns out to be murder

A 46-year-old city-based advocate, who was initially suspected to have died of suspected cardiac arrest, was murdered following a dispute over an autorickshaw fare in Annapoorneshwari Nagar Police Station limits on October 9 . The postmortem examination and police investigation confirmed that the death was due to a head injury and a case of murder.

The deceased has been identified as Sriram V., while the accused, autorickshaw driver Prithviraj, 31, has been arrested.

The incident occurred on October 9, when Sriram was walking near Ambedkar College and on his way home. He hailed an auto, but an argument reportedly broke out between him and Prithviraj over the fare. Sriram subsequently refused to take the auto and continued on his way.

Angered by the exchange, Prithviraj allegedly followed Sriram along with his associates and abused him. The accused then allegedly assaulted Sriram severely on the head before snatching his mobile phone and cash and fleeing from the spot.

Despite sustaining serious head injuries, Sriram continued walking for some distance before suddenly feeling unwell and collapsing.

At around noon, Hoysala police personnel rushed to the spot and shifted him to a nearby private hospital for treatment. However, his condition deteriorated, and he died at around 3 p.m.

Initially, doctors suspected that Sriram had died of a heart attack, prompting the police to register an unnatural death case. However, injuries noticed on the body raised suspicions among his family members. However, the victim’s father Venkatappa H., in his complaint said that his son sustained multiple injuries on the head and body, which led him to suspect an attack. He also said that Sriram’s mobile and money had been robbed.

Postmortem report

The postmortem examination revealed blood clots in Sriram’s head, indicating that he had died due to the injuries sustained in the assault. Following this finding, Annapoorneshwari Nagar police intensified the investigation and established that the death was a murder.

The investigation revealed that the fatal assault stemmed from the dispute over the autorickshaw fare on October 9. The police subsequently apprehended Prithviraj and are questioning him to establish the full circumstances of the crime and the possible involvement of others.