Malayali Kalaripayattu trainer, wife arrested for murder of youth

BENGALURU: A couple was arrested for killing a youth in a road rage over a minor accident. Manoj Kumar (32), a Malayali and wife Arathi Sharma (30), a Kashmiri, have been arrested. The incident happened at Puttenahalli area in Bengaluru on the night of October 25. Darshan (food delivery agent), was riding a bike with his friend Varun pillion riding him. Kumar and Sharma were in a car. The bike Darshan was riding brushed against the couple’s car damaging the right-side rear-view mirror. Darshan apologised to the act and sped away.

The enraged couple chased them for about two kilometers and hit the bike from behind. The two fell on the road. Varun escaped with injuries but Darshan died.

The couple, who fled the scene after causing the accident, later returned wearing masks and collected the remains of the car lying on the road before escaping again. The case, which was initially registered as a road accident, was later reclassified as murder by the police. The police have charged Manoj Kumar and Arathi Sharma with murder. They told police that Manoj was alone when he hit Darshan. The couple, who were produced in court on Wednesday, were remanded.