Bengaluru: Woman's body found in drum; sparks speculation on drum serial killer

A woman's body was found stuffed in a plastic drum at a railway station in Bengaluru on Monday, triggering speculation that a ‘drum serial killer’ was on the prowl as this is the third body of a woman being found stuffed in drums since December.

In the latest case, the body was found in a drum at the Baiyappanahalli railway station in Bengaluru. The drum was stuffed with clothes and capped tight with a lid.

Police have, however, dismissed the theory of a serial killer being on the prowl and claimed that the woman, identified as 27-year-old Tamanna, was killed by her brother-in-law.

Tamanna had allegedly abandoned her husband Afroz in Bihar's Araria and had eloped with a relative, Intequab, to Bengaluru where they were living together. Afroz's brother, Kamal, was said to be angered by this and allegedly killed the woman on February 12 with the help of his friends. Kamal and his friends allegedly left the body in a drum at the railway station the next day.

The police honed in on Kamal after tracking the auto rickshaw in which the body was transported to the station with the help of CCTV camera footage.

Three people suspected to be involved in the crime have been arrested and five are missing, the police said.

Earlier, on December 6, a decomposed body was found on a train and on January 4, another body, with multiple injuries, was found on a platform in Bengaluru's Yeshwantpur railway station. Neither of these women have been identified as yet.

The police denied any link between the latest incident and the earlier ones. "This case has nothing to do with the two previous cases. So far, we haven't found anything to indicate that a serial killer is involved," Railway Police officer Somlata was quoted by saying.

However, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala tweeted: "Bangaloreans - Remember the dates! Dead Bodies of 3 Women found stuffed in drums/barrel at Rlys Stations. Law & Order has failed. Serial killings galore."

Surjewala also shared a news report that suggested that the police had detected a pattern and suspected that a serial killer was on the prowl.