Techie’s wife delivers hours after his death

Tailor, assistant found dead in shop

BENGALURU: A 31-year-old software engineer , who walked into a south Bengaluru cybercafé on September 6 to get a colour print of his résumé and was stabbed in the left ear after an altercation with a staffer, succumbed to the injuries early Tuesday, hours before his wife delivered a baby boy.Girinagar police said the wife had not been told about husband Guru Prashanth’s death. The couple lived behind Muneshwara temple in Girinagar. Prashanth worked with an IT major in Bellandur. Police have arrested the cybercafé employee, Karthik S, 21, from Srinagar.“Karthik confessed to the crime and said he stabbed Prashanth with a screwdriver. Prashanth wanted colour prints of his résumé, but Karthik allegedly took out a black-and-white one. Prashanth questioned the lapse and alleged the accused was demanding Rs 10 more than the price elsewhere. It led to arguments between the duo. Karthik allegedly picked up a screwdriver and stabbed Prashanth in the left ear,” a police officer said quoting Karthik’s statement.Police registered an attempt-tomurder case on Friday, based on a complaint filed by Prashanth’s brother-in-law Siddaraju S, and arrested the accused the same day. “We produced him before the court, which remanded him in judicial custody. We’ve converted the case into one of murder,” a police officer said.Siddaraju’s complaint said Prashanth’s wife Mamatha phoned him around 8.30pm on Thursday and informed him that her husband had been admitted to Ramakrishna Hospital in Girinagar after an assault incident. He rushed to the hospital and found Prashanth unconscious with heavy bleeding from his left ear. Prashanth was shifted to BGS Global Hospital where he died.Police said Siddaraju rushed to the cybercafé later and learnt Karthik had stabbed Prashanth.Police said Prashanth’s pregnant wife was admitted to a private hospital for delivery and she gave birth to a baby boy on Tuesday morning.Family sources said they decided not to inform Mamatha about her husband’s death. Relatives have told her Prashanth is recovering in the hospital and he may visit her if he recovers fully before her discharge from the hospital.A 69-year-old cloth merchant-cum-tailor and his assistant were found dead inside a shop in Vannarpet, Viveknagar, on Monday.The incident came to light when the shop owner alerted the tailor’s son about foul smell emanating from the shop, which was shut for the last three days. Subsequently, police broke open the door and found the tailor hanging and the woman assistant stabbed to death The deceased are Ravindra alias Ravindran and Suma alias Uma, a native of Madikeri. “The bodies were decomposed. The woman had deep stab wounds on her neck,” cops said. Ravindra would stitch and supply military uniforms. Suma, who stayed in a room behind the shop, was working with Ravindra since 1999. Locals said Ravindra had been depressed ever since a court directed a bank to take over his Domlur house against unpaid loan. He had taken the loan for his daughter’s education.