Solving Crime: How a security guard’s sudden resignation cracked a British tourist’s murder in Bengaluru | Bangalore News

On January 9, 1996, the Bengaluru police received information that a foreigner’s body had been dumped in an isolated area in Chandra Layout. When a police team reached the spot, they found a bill issued by a clothing store on MG Road in the man’s pockets. After contacting the store, the police learnt that the deceased was James William Stuart, a British tourist staying at Sudha Lodge in Cottonpet. When the police reached the lodge, they found a 27-year-old British woman, Stuart’s partner, in his room. She had been raped.

The investigation was split into two fronts: while one team probed the woman’s rape, the then deputy commissioner of police (west), Praveen Sood, the current Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director, entrusted the inquiry into Stuart’s murder to Abdul Azeem, a police inspector at the Basaveshwaranagar police station.

“We had no clue how Stuart’s body had landed in Chandra Layout, which was then on the outskirts of Bengaluru. There were several isolated places there. We were hoping that the forensic science laboratory reports would give us some leads,” Azeem, currently a politician, recalls.

By then, the investigation into Stuart’s partner’s rape had revealed that on January 4, the couple had visited a restaurant in Briand Square near Sudha Lodge. Here, Stuart allegedly experienced stomach pain while having dinner and left, saying he was returning to their room. But, he never did.

Dr Thirunavukkarasu, the government doctor who conducted the post-mortem on Stuart’s body, suggested in his report that Stuart had been killed within 10 minutes after he consumed his last meal. This information helped the police narrow down their investigation and begin checking isolated areas near the restaurant.

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“The information that we got from doctors who conducted Stuart’s post-mortem was that he was hit with a blunt object and died due to a brain haemorrhage within a minute. The food pipe had signs that indicated that he had consumed food a few minutes before his death,” Azeem says.

This led the police to conclude that Stuart was murdered somewhere close to the restaurant at Briand Square, and his body was later dumped in Cottonpet, approximately 8 km away.

The probe begins

“We started checking for isolated places near the restaurant en route to Sudha Lodge, which was barely a km away. I specifically chose to reach out in the night, as the murder had taken place at night. There was a veterinary hospital, and next to it, there was a church. We enquired at both places to see if anyone had noticed anything on the day of the crime,” recalls Azeem.

The police came up empty-handed. “We went to another place opposite the church. There was a petrol bunk there earlier, and it was covered with metal sheets. We spoke to the security guard, who said that he had only joined 3-4 days ago as the previous guard, Mahadevaiah, had quit all of a sudden,” Azeem adds.

The investigation team’s instincts told them something was off, and they decided to look into why the guard had quit his job. The guard was an employee of Garuda Security Services, a security agency run by Uday Garudachar, now a BJP MLA, and the son of the former Karnataka director general of police, B N Garudachar.

When the police called the security agency’s office, a manager picked up. Azeem recalls how he did not reveal that he was investigating a murder. “I told him that valuables worth Rs 1 crore had been robbed from a jewellery shop on M G Road and that their agency had provided security to the shop. I said that we had learnt that Mahadevaiah could help us nab the suspects. I made this story up to let them think that a security agency was helping the police solve one of the biggest heists in Bengaluru. They shared Mahadevaiah’s address details,” says Azeem.

Mahadevaiah, who hailed from Mandya district, stayed in Girinagar in Bengaluru. He had quit his job just a day after Stuart’s murder. “I went to his Girinagar residence with my team. Mahadevaiah was unwell. He tried to evade my questions initially. I brought him to the police station, and when questioned, he spilled the beans,” says Azeem.

The case is cracked

According to Mahadevaiah, his acquaintances, Fakruddin and Shabbir Ahmed, used to come to the plot he used to guard at night and sometimes slept there. In the morning, Sanaullah, an autorickshaw driver, would also visit the place to rest.

On the night of the crime, Mahadevaiah allegedly told the police, he was in his room when Fakruddin and Shabbir brought a foreigner with them and tried to rob him. There was a tussle, and in the melee, Fakruddin allegedly hit Stuart with a wooden stick, the police were allegedly told. Stuart collapsed and died.

When the men found out Stuart had died, they panicked and tried to bury his body there, Mahadevaiah allegedly told the police. It was then that Sanaullah arrived. The trio allegedly placed Stuart’s body in a sack and left. Mahadevaiah claimed that he quit the next morning as he was threatened by the gang.

The police picked Fakruddin, 22, a resident of Shamanna Garden, first. Within 24 hours, four others were arrested. On January 15, 1996, then Bengaluru city police commissioner T Srinivasulu held a press meet and announced the arrest of Fakruddin, Shabbir, 19, Shami Ahmed, 20, Basheer, 20, and Sanaullah, 22.

During the investigation, the police found out something that had gone unnoticed. “When Stuart and his partner were heading to the restaurant, Shami touched her inappropriately. Later, when Stuart was returning to the lodge, Fakruddin accosted him and lured him, saying he could supply quality marijuana for an attractive price. He took Stuart inside the abandoned petrol bunk, and when Stuart opened his purse, they saw he was carrying a lot of money. Then the gang decided to rob him. Stuart resisted, they hit him on the head, and he died on the spot,” a police officer said.

A quick conviction and a chance encounter

In April 1997, a local court sentenced the accused to life imprisonment (minimum 14 years). “This was the quickest conviction that I have got from the court in my career,” says Azeem.

The accused were poor, says Azeem, and he told them that they could reach out to him if there were any problems at their homes. “I did not want the family members to suffer for the crimes they committed. This was also a way to reform criminals, something I have done during my service,” he adds.

“During their jail term, Fakruddin’s family approached me as his sister was getting married. I helped them in whatever way I could. Two years later, his father died, and I helped his family arrange the final rites,” recalls Aseem.

Years later, after Azeem opted for voluntary retirement, in 2004, he contested in the Karnataka Assembly elections as a Janata Dal (Secular) candidate. “I was campaigning in an open jeep when I spotted Fakruddin distributing pamphlets. Initially, I felt worried that he might be hatching a plan against me as I had arrested him and sent him to prison. But when I asked him what he was doing, he said that he was out on parole as his mother was unwell. He said he was campaigning for me to return the favour that I had done when his father had died,” Azeem reveals.

According to Azeem, all the accused in the case have been released. “I think they are leading normal lives now. They have been punished for the crime they committed. I have not heard their names in relation to crimes since,” he adds.