The Karnataka Police has claimed to have cracked the quadruple murder reported at a house in Udupi with the arrest of a 37-year-old man.
Praveen Arun Chougale, a resident of Sangli in Maharashtra, was arrested from Rayabhaga in Belagavi on Tuesday. According to police, he was working as a cabin crew member for an international airlines at Mangalore airport.
The shocking incident took place in the wee hours of Sunday when Haseena (46) and their children Afnan (23), Aynaz (21) and Aseem (12) were found dead at their house in Tripti Layout of Nejar. Reports said a masked man had stormed into their house, attacked the family with a sharp knife and fled the spot.
Haseena’s mother-in-law was critically injured in the attack and is undergoing treatment at a hospital. Her husband is working abroad.
Udupi SP K. Arun said the accused has confessed to have committed the four murders though the weapon used in the crime is yet to be ascertained.
“His intention was to kill Afnan. The accused had claimed that he carried out the other three murders to escape and erase evidence,” Arun was quoted as saying by IANS.
According to police, Afnan was Praveen’s co-worker. The accused, a married man with two children, fell in love with Afnan and they both had some money transactions.
As the matter reached their families, Afnan stopped all communication with Praveen who, in turn, decided to take revenge.
“The preliminary investigations suggest the accused was an over-possessive person and the murder was triggered by jealousy and animosity in this regard,” the Indian Express quoted a police source as saying.
Police had formed five teams to crack the case and collected details from the victims’ neighbours and also examined the CCTV footage in the area.
They tracked Praveen based on technical data including cell phone location and call data records. The accused was arrested from one of his relatives’ house in Belagavi.
The investigators had also analysed Afnan’s phone records and chats.
"Praveen Chougale, the suspect, has been taken into custody on the basis of technical evidence and intelligence reports. He is presently under police custody. We are interrogating several suspects,” the SP had earlier told reporters in Udupi.
Security has been beefed up across the district as a precaution. Additional policemen are deployed near the offices of the SP, DySP and surrounding areas.
