Fatal mistake: Realtor told gunmen to celebrate Diwali

BENGALURU: While RSS worker Rudresh’s murder is still fresh in public memory, another murder rocked the city on Sunday night when two armed men gunned down a 51-year-old businessman in front of his house. The incident occurred in Sanjaynagar police limits around 10 pm on Sunday. The police suspect it to be a case of supari killing and financial dispute and old rivalry as the motive. The deceased, Paruchuri Surendra Kumar, ran several businesses under Paruchuri Group and Paruchuri Global Foundation.

Hailing from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, he had settled in the city since 1999. He was into real estate, finance, security solutions and social service. He was unmarried and was living on 13th Cross of Hanumaiah Layout in Sanjaynagar. Earlier, he was staying in R.T. Nagar and had moved to Hanumaiah Layout a few months ago. He was reportedly close to Health Minister Ramesh Kumar.

The police said Mr Kumar, who had gone out, returned home around 9.30 pm. As the car stopped in front of his house, his driver got down and went to open the gate. Just then, two assailants on a Pulsar bike came close to the car and the pillion rider shot six rounds at Mr Kumar, who was getting out of the car, and sped away. Mr Kumar was hit by three bullets in the shoulder, two in the neck and one on his cheek, and collapsed inside the car.

“His driver and assistant, Deepankar, stood shocked for a while, but managed to rush him to M.S. Ramaiah Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Then they alerted us and Mr Kumar’s family,” the police said.

Preliminary probe revealed that the assailants had covered their faces with masks. Forensic experts, who examined the scene of crime and the bullet injury marks on the body, confirmed that the bullets were shot from a revolver from a close range. “It is a well-planned murder and the assailants had information about his movements. It is not yet known whether they were waiting for him near his house or followed the car. We are verifying the footage from CCTV cameras in the locality. Insiders tipping off the assailants cannot be ruled out,” a senior officer said. Special teams have been formed to crack the case.

He sent off gunmen
Mr Kumar had received life threats a few years ago and had sought protection. Though he was given armed security for a few months, it was withdrawn later. As he was running Parchuri Security Solutions, he had kept four armed gunmen with him.

R. Sukumar, President of Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners Federation, a close friend of Mr Kumar, said, “He had gone to Hosur on Sunday afternoon to buy crackers. He returned in the evening and went to his office in Hebbal and his farmhouse near Devanahalli, where he distributed sweets and crackers. As it was a festival, he dropped all his gunmen on the way asking them to celebrate the festival with their families. If his gunmen were to be with him, the incident would have not occurred.”

Mr Kumar always carried a licensed revolver with him. But on Sunday, he had kept it in his briefcase that was in the rear seat of the car.

‘He wanted to serve society’
Mr Sukumar said Mr Kumar remained a bachelor and he was keen to help the poor and the needy. “He always told me that it will be difficult for him to manage both family and social service if he got married. He had adopted several government schools in Hosur and some in Bengaluru,” he said.

N. Ramachandran, president, Kannada-Tamil Harmony & Social Welfare Trust, said, “He had given shelter to over 50 stray dogs which had health issues at at his farmhouse near Devanahalli. I was surprised when I visited his house once. He had put up big pictures of the dogs which were under his care but had passed away. He had lit up lamps before these pictures.”

Cases against him
Mr Kumar had more than 10 cases against him in various police stations in the city and Andhra Pradesh. Most of them were cheating and cheque bounce cases.