Ten years ago, a retired bank manager was brutally murdered in front of his wife in Bengaluru when they tried to rob an antique diamond necklace worth Rs 18 crore. In an interesting twist, the accused were arrested after the case but one of them, who had an MBA degree, later managed to give a slip to the police after getting bail. He went untraceable for five years – until investigators found a post on his girlfriend’s Facebook.
It was 2014 and Uday Raj Singh, 62, a retired manager of State Bank of Mysore, was living peacefully with his wife Susheela Singh, 57, in Lakkasandra. The couple had no children. Uday was drawing plans to establish an orphanage or a common marriage hall, where he decided to sell a 200-year-old ancient uncut diamond necklace from his hand. At that time, it was worth around Rs 15-18 crore, police said.
Finally, two people – Madhusudhan alias Madhu and Abhishek – approached Uday saying they could put him in touch with a potential client for commission. After several meetings at Uday’s place, she begins to trust them despite Susheela’s warnings.
On March 25, 2014, they came to Uday’s house at two o’clock in the afternoon with four others, claiming to have found a customer. Madhu told Uday that she wants to see the diamond necklace first. Susheela entered the room and came back with a decoration, which she showed to the guests. Little did the Singhs know that one of the suspects was waiting outside. In the next few minutes, the lives of the couple took a turn for the better as Abhishek, Madhu and others pulled out knives and unleashed a vicious attack.
Uday was stabbed in the neck, Susheela screamed. He was immediately dragged into the room and stabbed in the throat. However, his injuries were not life-threatening.
Less than a week later, the then city police commissioner announced the arrest of Madhusudhan, 27, a resident of Mysuru; Satish, 25, and Abhishek, 27, residents of Srirangapatna; and Mysuru residents Dileep Kumar, 24, Amit Kumar, 23, Kiran, 28, and Sridhar, 31. (Express Photos)
The police appear unexpectedly
The gang started to make off with the diamond necklace, but what followed was a twist they didn’t expect. Mahadeva Nayaka MK, now the HSR Layout police station, was on duty at the time. He recalls, “Two days before the murder, students of a local school had drowned in a nearby lake. When their parents protested outside the school, the police were deployed in the area as a precaution. When the killers ran away from the house, Susheela’s cries were heard and the protesters and the police arrested three of them namely Satish, Dileep and Madhusudhan.”
“Like us, the accused were also surprised. Madhu spilled the beans during interrogation and revealed the involvement of others,” Nayaka added.
Within a week, other suspects were also arrested and the then city police commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar announced the arrest of Madhusudhan, 27, a resident of Mysuru; Satish, 25, and Abhishek, 27, residents of Srirangapatna; and Mysuru residents Dileep Kumar, 24, Amit Kumar, 23, Kiran, 28, and Sridhar, 31.
What made the accused commit the crime
Madhu opened a business called Edelweiss Private Limited – which involves investment and financial services – in Mysuru with another person named Ramprasad. However, the business suffered huge losses, leaving Madhu in debt of Rs 1.2 crore. The son of a former labourer, Madhu shares his grief with his friend Abhishek who leads him to Uday and his vintage diamond necklace. After several visits, the two decide to steal the necklace and form a gang to do so.
Bail and sentencing
The police in Adugodi, who were investigating the case, finally opened a case file with more than 53 pieces of evidence and 39 witnesses. The suspects were later granted conditional bail in May 2017, but ordered to attend court hearings and present themselves at the police station if required. While the other accused complied, Madhu did not and a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) was issued against him.
An MBA graduate, Madhu had worked as an assistant manager at HDFC Bank, Bengaluru, before opening a franchise in Mysuru. The police made several trips to Mysuru in an attempt to find him but failed.
On June 12, 2019, the 56th Additional City Court convicted the accused and sentenced each of them to life imprisonment. The police had filed charges under section 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 396 (dacoity with murder), 397 (robbery or attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 302 (murder) and 201 (destroying evidence or giving false information). of the Indian Penal Code.
“Apart from technical and scientific evidence, the statement of Susheela, who was a victim as well as a witness, was important in this case,” said the police officer involved in the investigation. While Madhu was on the run, the others were put in jail.
Mahadeva Nayaka MK and Manjunatha S. (Express Photos)
Sister’s concerns and posts on Facebook
Although others were convicted, the police did not find anything about Madhu, and gradually stopped pursuing the accused.
In May 2022, former Adugodi police inspector Manjunatha S was on duty when a visitor came to him. “He was meeting with one of the killers and asked me how Madhu was still roaming around when his brother was convicted. I was surprised as I didn’t know much about this case at the time. I quickly read it and asked him to give me any information he had. We got the number of a woman who is said to be Madhu’s girlfriend,” said Manjunatha.
After following the woman’s movements for a few days, we went through her Facebook. “When he looked at his post, in one of the selfies he shared, Madhu was seen standing next to him. Photo taken at Orion Mall. Since we didn’t have Madhu’s contact number, we started tracking the woman using her mobile number. He went to Nelamangala and visited Bengaluru frequently. A team was formed to confirm that he was accompanied by Madhu and it took 2-3 days to get confirmation from the pictures available to us,” added the police officer.
Finally, the police followed Madhu and his girlfriend and arrested them while they were having lunch in a neighborhood near Nelamangala. “It was a secret operation and we kept it very low key. Also, we had to seek help from other police stations but we did not reveal anything about the crime committed by Madhu,” said Manjunatha.
Investigation revealed that Madhu first fled to North India before settling in Patna and Pune. He changed his name and used a fake name to start working for the company. “He got new papers with a different name and was living a peaceful life. “If he had not visited his girlfriend in Bengaluru, it would have been difficult to arrest him,” said a police officer.
Madhu was convicted and on April 16, 2024, the 56th Additional City Court sentenced him to life imprisonment.
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