Multiple attempts on realtor’s life before he was killed

Rajashekar Reddy, hacked to death in Anekal, was embroiled in property battles

The investigation into the murder of Rajashekar Reddy, a 42-year-old realtor, has revealed three earlier attempts on his life by the same gang.

Reddy was hacked to death in Anekal on January 5. Eight men, involved in the conspiracy, were arrested by the Anekal police recently.

“The main accused are Jayaram and his son Shashikumar of Thammanayakanahalli. They gave supari to a few men from the Anekal-Chandapura region,” Bengaluru rural police DySP Mallesh told Metrolife.

The two gave Rs 5 lakh to the gang and promised them more once the job was done, police say.

Jayaram and Shashikumar, both into real estate, allegedly decided to get rid of Rajashekar after he thwarted a land deal struck by them.

“The first attempt on Rajashekar’s life was made in BTM Layout near a bakery but it failed. The second was on Devanahalli Road when Rajashekar was heading to the airport, and the third was when he was driving on the Kolar-Chikkaballapur Road,” another officer told Metrolife. The gang got a tip-off that Rajashekar was in Anekal and was going to his house in BTM Layout around 7.45 pm. They intercepted
his car and attacked him with machetes.

“They struck him so hard that his neck almost got chopped,” says the officer. Another officer, also investigating the case, told Metrolife lots more remained to be unearthed.

“Jayaram is a 57-year-old man. There is somebody else operating behind him. We are trying to see where this will lead us,” adds Mallesh, who also says the entire team, investigating this case, had come down with Covid, but they managed to complete the investigation and nab the accused in a short span.

Who is Rajashekar Reddy?

A chain smoker, he sat near a bakery and brokered land deals

A native of Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, Rajashekar Reddy moved to Anekal in early 2000 when he got a job in a real estate business run by Sudhakar Reddy.

Rajashekar frequented this bakery near his house where he always drank a cup of tea with onion samosa.

Sudhakar owned large tracts of land in and around Anekal and Attibele. He formed multiple layouts between 1996 and 2004. Rajashekar soon became a trusted hand. After Sudhakar’s death of a heart attack in 2012, Rajashekar started to handle property matters independently. Sudhakar’s wife and daughters were unaware of his land dealings and Rajashekar, as the only male presence associated with the family, took on the responsibility of maintaining and selling Sudhakar’s properties, says an investigator. Rajashekar struck all his land deals in Anekal.

Murky land deals

Sites in Anekal are larger than those in Bengaluru, and have seen a huge rise in prices, thanks to the expansion of the city. Jayaram allegedly created fake documents and forged signatures to corner properties, and was eyeing three of Sudhakar’s properties, according to the police.

“He had forged Sudhakar’s signature to sell a property when Rajashekar thwarted the deal. This enraged Jayaram, who decided to eliminate Rajashekar for good,” says the officer.

Jayaram is well-versed with official procedures at the sub-registrar’s office. “When selling or buying the land, Jayaram always makes the agreement in a third person’s name after forging signatures,” says the officer.

The village panchayat has no authority to allow layouts on agricultural lands. But layouts are developed and sold with the help of fake documents, he explains.

His connection with Bengaluru

Rajashekar Reddy was a bachelor, and lived on the fourth floor of a multi-storied building on 16th Main, BTM 2nd Stage.

When Metrolife visited the neighbourhood on Monday, neighbours were still reeling from the shock of Rajashekar, whom they describe as a quiet neighbour, being murdered in cold blood.

While the family living in his house refused to comment, Rajashekar’s acquaintances said he was friendly.

“He was a man of few words. I would see him leave his house early in the morning and return late at night. Some nights, he wouldn’t come home. He had three cars – a Swift, an MG and a Maruti 800, and he used them one after the other,” says a neighbour.

Rajashekar enjoyed the onion samosa at a bakery near his house. Ravi, owner of the bakery, told Metrolife that Rajashekar would spend long hours there. “He would meet most of his friends here. He was a chain smoker. He maintained an account with us and would pay us at the end of the month,” he says. Rajashekar would strike deals sitting near the bakery. He had a few friends who would regularly accompany him to the bakery.