RAMANAGARA: The decomposed body of a man recovered from the banks of a lake in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, in Sept this year has been identified as that of a Bengaluru scrap merchant who had gone missing in July.
Citing investigation and autopsy report, Tamil Nadu police said Rajappa, 48, from Srinivasa Reddy Layout in Bengaluru, died a natural death at a factory in Bheemanakuppe village, near Kumbalagodu, off Mysuru Road, on July 28. The factory owners and staff dumped the body in the Dharmapuri lake as they wanted to avoid getting involved with police.
Tamil Nadu police have transferred the case to Kumbalagodu police, who will procure the autopsy and forensic reports from their TN counterparts before taking a final call on the case, a cop said.
"Rajappa usually visited the Bheemanakuppe factory on Sunday to collect scrap material from the unit. On July 27, a Saturday, he visited the factory but slept in a room there. The following morning, factory owner Jyoti found him dead in a sleeping position," the officer said. "Jyoti panicked and called her friend Kapilan. Suggesting they would all be in trouble if the matter was reported to police, Kapilan, with some workers' help, buried the body nearby. Then, the next morning, they excavated the body with the help of an earthmover and shifted it to a tipper truck. The body was covered with the soil taken out from the grave."
The tipper was driven to Dharmapuri, and the body was dumped in a lake in Muttupatti, which is Kapilan's hometown. The lake overflowed during heavy rain and the body washed up to the bank.
Meanwhile, Rajappa's family filed a missing person complaint with Ramamurthynagar police.
In mid-Sept, a panchayat development officer from Muttupatti came across the body and alerted the local cops. During investigation, Tamil Nadu police found a tipper truck had dumped soil in the lake a few days earlier.
"The trail of the tipper led cops to the factory in Bheemanakuppe. The tipper truck driver was detained and he revealed everything. Based on his statement, Tamil Nadu police questioned Jyoti, Kapilan, and tipper truck owner Suresh. After finalising their statements, the case was transferred to us. We have registered a fresh FIR," a Kumbalagodu cop said, adding, "In a day or two, we'll detain all three and question them."
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