Bengaluru: 4 rock climbers held for murder of thief

Bengaluru: Four rock climbers were arrested for murder after they allegedly trapped and assaulted a thief, who died at Nimhans on Monday morning after they handed him over to the police. The thief, Raju, a resident of HD Kote in Mysore district, allegedly stole laptops, mobiles and other belongings from the climbers.

The police alleged that Raju died as he was thrashed by the athletes, while the climbers charged the police might have brutally assaulted him in custody leading to his death. The Sampangiram Nagar police have arrested Bharath, Kiran, Uthkarsh, and Nishanth.

The climbers were practising at the Kantheerava Indoor Stadium on September 16, when trainer Sneha’s laptop went missing. A group of her friends approached the Sampangiram Nagar police to register a complaint, but as the police were busy with Cauvery row deployment, they asked the group to come the next day.

But the group decided to nab the thief on their own by laying a trap on Sunday.
On September 18, some of the climbers kept all their belongings including laptops, mobiles and their backpacks carelessly at the stadium and were pretending to be busy with their practice, while others stood guard at the three entrances to the stadium.

Around 6 am, Raju was trying to sneak out of one of the entrances with a backpack containing a laptop. The climbers intercepted him, but he slipped away. They immediately raised an alarm and the other athletes at the stadium chased Raju and caught him. They beat him up and then called the police.

The Sampagiram Nagar police took him into custody. Around midnight on Sunday, he complained of pain and the police took him to Phoenix Hospital, where doctors referred him to Nimhans, where he died early on Monday morning.

The friends of the accused claimed that Raju was in good health and was walking when the police took him to the police station. “The police might have assaulted him brutally, causing his death,” they alleged.