BENGALURU: A routine hit-and-run investigation has laid bare a cold-blooded murder conspiracy involving a “rowdy sheeter,” a potato-chip-loving assassin and a Rs 30-lakh bounty.North division police have cracked the case of 55-year-old Vijayalakshmi’s death, revealing a meticulously planned heist that masqueraded as an accident.The plot was hatched in the second week of April after Vijayalakshmi’s local business associate, Chetan, discovered the single woman had Rs 30 lakh in cash at her Mahalakshmi Layout residence. Seeking a cut of the fortune, Chetan allegedly leaked this information to Manjunath, alias Manja, a history-sheeter in Sheshadripuram police station limitsManja, in turn, recruited Pradeep, notorious in the underworld as “Chips” due to his obsession with the snack. Pradeep was already facing three murder charges at the time.The gang allegedly decided that a direct home invasion was too risky. Instead, they scripted a staged accident to clear the house. On the night of April 20, as Vijayalakshmi walked along the Kurubarahalli Pipeline Road, a man named Rakesh rammed her with his sports motorbike. In a macabre twist of acting, Manja and his associates, who were tailing the victim, rushed to the spot pretending to be concerned citizens. They “rescued” the bleeding woman and shifted her to Victoria Hospital in an auto-rickshaw driven by their accomplice, Ravi Kumar.
While Vijayalakshmi fought for her life, Pradeep tried to sneak into her home to steal Rs 30 lakh. However, vigilant neighbours spotted the intruder and caught him. When Vijayalakshmi passed away on April 27, the traffic case was upgraded to murder. Under the direction of DCP (North) BS Nemagouda, a special team detained Rakesh, who quickly buckled and confessed to the “intentional ramming.”While the gang waited for Vijayalakshmi to succumb to her injuries so they could loot the house, Vijayanagar traffic inspector GY Giriraj, upon reviewing CCTV footage of the “accident,” noticed that Rakesh didn’t swerve or brake — he steered directly into the victim.“The geometry of the collision didn’t match a lapse in judgment; it looked like a hit,” a senior officer noted.The subsequent arrests of Ravi, Chetan and Pradeep closed the loop on the conspiracy. As many as six people were arrested in the case. But ironically, the mastermind Manja, suffering from a pancreatic ailment, died in a private hospital on May 6, just weeks before his victim.
