2 Soldiers Held For Stabbing Colleague To Death 

Bengaluru: Two armymen who allegedly stabbed their colleague to death and burnt his body at the Military campus in Vivek Nagar here were arrested today.

Police said Muralikrishna (29) and Dhanaraj (25), both from Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, were arrested on the charge of murdering their colleague Pankaj (26) from Uttar Pradesh. They said Muralikrishna, who is facing some disciplinary action, was upset that Pankaj was the witness in those cases.

Fearing that he may lose his job, he hatched a conspiracy with Dhanaraj to kill his colleague, police said. Deputy Commissioner of Police Dr Chandragupta said that on the night of March 23 Pankaj returned to his room after the drill when the duo barged in and bolted the room from inside.

An argument ensued following which Muralikrishna and Dhanraj stabbed Pankaj to death. Later, they dumped his body in a water tanker, took it to Domlur, a few kilometres away and set it ablaze using waste material there in a vain bid to destroy evidence, he said.

They then brought the half burnt body back to the campus and threw it in a corner, went to the room of Pankaj and cleaned the blood stains. Army officials found the body in the campus on March 25, following which they alerted police.

The services of sniffer dogs were requistioned and police zeroed in on the duo and arrested them. A case of murder, criminal conspiracy and attempt to  destroy evidence under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code was registered against them, police said.

PTI