Bengaluru: WhatsApp has indeed begun to play a vital role in our modern society. From spreading rumours to memes to vital information, WhatsApp groups’ role cannot be ignored.
A recent incident proved to support this fact when a beat cops’ WhatsApp group played a major role in solving an unidentified young man’s murder.
On October 13, a young man’s body was found by police, near a park in Sunkadakatte. Soon after, CCTV footage from in and around the park was collected and processed as per protocol, where they spotted the victim with another person in a bar, mere hours before his death.
Despite their best efforts, all they were able to find out about the murdered youth was that he spoke in a North Karnataka accent.
Desperate for answers, Inspector Ravikumar R G shared the deceased’s picture with the inspectors of all North Karnataka police stations, in the hope that he would achieve a break.
When the other inspectors shared the photo with the local beat cops, they shared it in their Suraksha Mitra WhatsApp group and they hit the jackpot.
A member of the WhatsApp group, Shivraj Patil of the Mulki Police Station in the Sindhanur taluk of Vijayapura district, not only identified the deceased but also identified the man with whom the deceased was last seen.
On being summoned to Bengaluru, he identified the deceased as Gundana Gowda (22) and his companion as Basavalinga (21).
Basavalinga was immediately arrested on suspicion who later confessed to the crime.
He explained that he had borrowed Rs 20000 from Gundana, and after he got engaged Gundana said that he would waive off the loan if he was allowed to obtain sexual favours from Basavalinga’s fiance`.
Gundana began to pester Basavalinga about the proposal, which enraged the latter who decided to put an end to his tormentor and the problem with one stone.
He invited Gundana for a few drinks and on their way home he hit him over the head repeatedly with a hollow brick till he was dead.
