A 39-year-old autorickshaw driver in Bengaluru was killed on Monday by his childhood friend who had an affair with his wife, the police said on Thursday while announcing the arrests of seven people in connection with the incident.
The police said that Vijay Kumar, the victim, lived at D Group Layout in Machohalli and was originally from Magadi in Bengaluru South district. They identified the arrested accused as Dhananjaya, 41, a resident of Machohalli; Rohith K, 22, and Vivek M A, 20, both from Bachanahalli; Ramesh S, 42, who belongs to Kadabagere; Sagar, 23, who hails from Seegehalli; and Hemanth, 18, from Herohalli.
Around 8.30 pm on Monday, a gang allegedly hacked Vijay to death near his home. According to the police, Vijay and Dhananjaya were childhood friends and autorickshaw drivers. Vijay also worked as a real estate broker. Their friendship went downhill when Dhananjay began an affair with Vijay’s wife, the police said.
Vijay married Asha 10 years ago and the couple have two children together. Dhananjay frequently visited their home, allegedly developing an intimate relationship with Asha gradually.
When Vijay discovered the affair, he relocated his family from Kamakshipalya to D Group Layout, hoping that distance would end the relationship. He confronted both Asha and Dhananjay demanding they cease contact, but his wife continued meeting her lover secretly, according to the police.
The discovery of the secret affair led to frequent disputes between the couple and Vijay again found his wife and Dhananjay together. The police said Dhananjaya had conspired to eliminate Vijay to continue his relationship with Asha. He allegedly hired some people to commit the murder.
“We are yet to establish the role of Asha in the case and she has been subjected to questioning many times. We have asked her to appear before the police whenever she is summoned,” a police officer said.
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On Monday night, when Vijay left his home, a few men followed him for approximately 500 m, attacked him with lethal weapons such as a machete, and killed him before fleeing the scene, the police said.