Pharmacy owner hacked to death in Bengaluru, police suspect ‘revenge killing’

A 35-year-old medical store owner was hacked to death near the Madiwala underpass in Bengaluru on Saturday night, police said on Sunday, adding that they suspect that the killing could be an act of revenge linked to an earlier murder case involving his brothers.

According to police, the deceased, Suhail Mohammed, a resident of Mangammanapalya, was travelling from Madiwala towards Koramangala around 10pm when four men riding two motorcycles intercepted him amid traffic and attacked him with swords.

Suhail suffered severe injuries and died at the spot due to excessive blood loss, police said, adding that the attackers reportedly fled after leaving the weapons at the scene.

Police said they suspect the murder could be linked to the killing of a repeat offender, Shabbir, at Bandepalya on January 13 by Suhail’s brothers Kaleem (28) and Nazir (26), along with another associate. Investigators suspect that the attackers may have targeted Suhail to seek revenge over Shabbir’s murder.

However, police said Suhail himself had no known criminal background and was not directly involved in the Shabbir murder case. The possibility that he was targeted because of his brothers is among the angles being investigated.

Madiwala police inspector B Sathish said, “We suspect that the murder may have been planned in advance, we are examining whether the accused had been tracking Suhail’s movements before carrying out the attack. Suhail was reportedly riding a motorcycle when he was attacked at around 10 pm, after closing his shop.”

We formed three special teams to trace the suspects who are hiding in Tamil Nadu after the incident, he added.

Senior police officers, including DCP Sujitha, CCB DCP Haribabu and Joint Commissioner of Police Ramesh Banoth, visited the crime scene and reviewed the investigation.

Police have seized CCTV footage and DVRs from the area and are analysing the movements of the attackers before and after the crime.

Investigators are also examining why Suhail had travelled towards Madiwala when his medical store was located in Bommanahalli and who had contacted him shortly before the murder. Police are also verifying phone records and other technical evidence to establish the motive and identify those involved.