Missing persons complaint that revealed seven Bengaluru murders

A view of the house in Rajajinagar where Indushekhar allegedly murdered seven members of his wife’s family. | Photo credit: PTI

It was only when the mother of Nalini, one of the seven allegedly killed by taxi driver-turned-YouTuber Indushekhar, filed a missing person’s complaint that the police got their first clue to the murders. While the murders allegedly took place between October 16 and October 31, the last two bodies were disposed of on November 1 or 2.

Senior police officers said Sunita, wife of the accused, and Roopavathi, his mother-in-law, were the first to be murdered. Sunita and Indushekhar had been married for 20 years and the officer said they had regular arguments throughout their marriage. Sunita worked as a typist for a lawyer while Indushekhar was a taxi driver. Their jobs were often a point of contention between them.

“Indushekhar alleged that he was verbally abused and harassed by his wife and her family, while her brothers also encouraged her to fight him,” said a senior officer.

Prima facie, the police found that Indushekhar had been planning the murders for over a year. The growing friction and pent-up anger is said to have come to a head after a recent meeting.

“The accused claimed that Roopavathi had visited his house on October 14 when she and Sunita were allegedly verbally abusing him. This became the trigger point and he wanted to remove them,” the officer said.

According to the police, Sunita and Roopavathi were murdered first. Subsequently, the accused invited Sunita’s younger brother Shivakumar and his wife Divya to his house on the pretext of hosting a party. The couple was then killed along with their seven-year-old son Puneeth. On October 30, the accused allegedly invited Shankar, another brother of Sunita, and his wife Nalini and allegedly murdered them.

Also read: Did all the murders happen in a small house on a terrace?

Missing persons complaint

On November 3, Tungamma, Nalini’s mother, approached the police saying that her daughter’s phone was switched off and that their house in Srirampur was also locked. Tungamma subsequently went to Indushekar’s house to check on him but found his house also locked.

Sensing something was wrong, she contacted Divya’s mother Kalavathi, who also said her daughter and son-in-law were missing. Tungamma then lodged a missing person complaint with the Srirampura police.

Karthik, a shopkeeper near Indushekhar’s house, said a police team visited the house on November 3 and started inquiring about Indushekhar among the residents of the area. “They also came the next day and questioned people as Indushekhar’s house was locked,” he said.

A senior officer told The Hindu that the police became suspicious and started tracking Indushekhar. Several technical inputs indicated it was on the move. “Eventually, when he was in town, we tracked him down and impounded his car,” he said.

Charge

A major drama unfolded near the Rajajinagar police station on Friday when Nalini’s family accused the police of delaying their complaint. “We contacted the police already on November 1, but they did not register our complaint. They took it up after two days,” said a family member.

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh refuted the allegations and said action would be taken against the officers if any wrongdoing was found.

A murderous weapon

While the defendant claimed to have murdered the victims using a grindstone, police have yet to establish the exact modus operandi. “Only when the bodies are found, we can verify the cause of death. We have recovered the suspected weapon,” the officer said.

Seemant Kumar Singh, Bengaluru Police Commissioner said, “As this is a serious case, we will collect all the evidence and submit it to an expedited court. We have instructed senior officers to closely monitor the investigation and ensure that all necessary evidence is collected.”

Published – 06 Nov 2026 22:22 IST