Umesh REDDY

AKA "The Bangalore Serial Killer"

Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Serial rapist - Robberies - Former police constable
Number of victims: 1 - 18
Date of murder: February 28, 1998
Date of arrest: March 2, 1998
Date of birth: 1969
Victim profile: Jayashree Maradi Subbaiah, 37
Method of murder: Stabbing with knife
Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Status: Sentenced to death on October 27, 2006

Sexual maniac Umesh Reddy, who had allegedly raped and robbed over 20 women, tops the list of most dreaded serial killers. A former police constable, Reddy became the reason for cops and women to run for their lives in the late 90s.

Reddy, who is known to have allegedly raped, murdered and robbed women across the state and other states, had sent the state police on a chase, by escaping six times, before he was arrested on May 17, 2002 by Yeshwanthpur police.

He was arrested after one Sathyavelu spotted him in a saloon.

Who is Umesh Reddy?

Umesh Reddy alias Rajulu alias Ramesh alias Venkatesh, a native of Basappa Malige in Chitradurga, completed his PUC in 1995.

He served as a constable in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Kashmir in 1996. He then joined the District Armed Reserve (DAR) at Chitradurga in November 1996.

Cases against him: He had raped the daughter of a CRPF commandant and escaped from Kashmir, attempted to rape a school girl near KEB colony in Chitradurga and allegedly raped and murdered another girl Rupa in 1996.

He was involved in two cases in Mysore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Baroda, raped three girls in Pune, Davanagere and Hubli-Dharwad. In Bangalore, Reddy has four cases registered against him in Peenya, one each in Gangammanagudi, Jalahalli and Yeshwanthpur and two in MICO layout police stations.

Modus operandi: He used to attack houses where women stayed alone. He would hold the victims at knife point, tie their hands, rape them, kill them and then rob the houses.

Umesh also collected the undergarments of women and tried them. After his arrest, police found bags containing women's garments--10 bras, 18 pairs of panties, six sarees, two nighties, eight churidars, and four blouses.

Daijiworld.com

Bangalore: It's Death for Cop-turned-serial-rapist Killer Umesh Reddy

Daijiworld.com

February 19, 2009

Bangalore, Feb 19: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday confirmed the death sentence of Umesh Reddy alias B A Umesh, the serial rapist and psychopath killer, who terrorised the State in the nineties.

Justice S R Bannurmath, the third judge appointed to decide Reddy’s fate, upheld the city fast-track court judgment of October 26, 2006, by confirming his death sentence.

Reading out the verdict, the judge ruled that there was no scope for finding any mitigating circumstances in Reddy’s favour. “The accused, being a habitual offender, the sentences of imprisonment imposed on him in several cases had no deterrent effect on him,” he observed.

Terming the case the rarest of the rare, Justice Bannurmath said: “It is evident that even after punishments in cases of robbery, dacoity and rape, he has not reformed; no reformation can be expected from such a habitual offender and pervert criminal.”

The judge added: “I do not understand why such a devil in man’s garb should be maintained by society by locking him up in jail for life. It is a known fact that whenever there is an opportunity, he has a tendency to run away from custody and commit new, heinous crimes.

Faith in system

“The death sentence imposed by the trial court has to be confirmed; or else the faith society has reposed in the criminal justice system would be shattered.”

On an appeal by Reddy’s counsel to consider keeping him in prison for life, as it was done in Swamy Shraddananda’s case, the judge observed: “I am unable to accept this proposition, because in Swamy Shraddananda’s case there were certain mitigating circumstances in his favour — like him being a first-time offender and a fairly aged person.

“But here, it is a policeman who has become a habitual pervert and a violent offender, who not only commits robbery but also, to satisfy his lust, attacks helpless women, commits rape and has even brutally murdered one of his victims, Jayashree.”

Citing several apex court judgments and quotes of several legal experts like Justice V S Malimath, Justice Bannurmath upheld the death sentence imposed by the lower court and referred the matter to the chief justice.

Divergent judgment

Umesh Reddy was convicted by a high court division bench on October 4, 2007, for the rape and murder of Jayashree Maradi Subbaiah, a widow, on February 28, 1998. But the judges differed on the quantum of sentence, as one judge upheld the death penalty imposed by the lower court, while the second judge felt he should undergo life imprisonment.

Justice V G Sabhahit had confirmed the lower court’s order imposing death penalty by observing that the accused was not a first-time offender and had already been convicted in three criminal cases.

“Imprisonment for life could be inadequate, and the offence committed by the accused constitutes the rarest of the rare cases. The interest of justice would be met only by awarding the death penalty to him,” he had observed.

Justice Ravi B Naik contended that the death penalty as a deterrent had failed to curb crime, and modified the lower court’s order to rigorous imprisonment for life.

“Imposition of the death penalty is not called for in this case. The death sentence be set aside and accused should undergo rigorous imprisonment until he completes his natural life. He shall not be entitled to any remission of sentence, amnesty or any special occasion either by state or centre,” the judge observed.

Umesh Reddy, a former constable from Hiriyur taluk in Chitradurga district, was arrested on March 2, 1998, by the Yeshwanthpur police.

He has 25 cases against him. Of these, he was convicted in nine cases, including two cases in Bellary, three in Peenya and one in Baroda, Gujarat. He has been acquitted in ten cases, and trial is pending in the remaining cases.

Reddy, who committed several crimes in Chitradurga and Bangalore North, gave the slip to police many times earlier. He is also known as a transvestite (one who is fascinated by the garments of opposite sex).

Death sentence to Bangalore serial killer Umesh

Oneindia.in

February 18, 2009

Bangalore, Feb 18: Bangalore serial killer Umesh Reddy, who is also known as 'Jack the Ripper' was sentenced to death by the Bangalore High Court on Wednesday, Feb 18. He is convicted in 4 rape and murder cases. However the judges who pronounced the verdict differed on the quantum of sentence. One judge upheld the death penalty imposed by the lower court, while the second judge said Umesh should undergo life imprisonment.

Umesh was convicted in 2007 by a High Court division bench for the 1998 case of rape and murder of Jayashree Maradi Subbaiah, a widow. A former police constable from Hiriyur taluk, in Chitradurga of Karnataka, is facing trail in 7 cases of which he was convicted in 3. He had killed 18 women between 1998 to 2001. Altogether 19 cases are pending on him in different districts of Karnataka.

State told to place records of cases involving Umesh Reddy

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Friday directed the State Government to place before it all appeals and records relating to the involvement of Umesh Reddy in other cases.

A Division Bench comprising Justice V.G. Sabhahit and Justice Ravi B. Naik directed the State Public Prosecutor (SPP), S. Dore Raju, to place before them appeals by Reddy relating to cases in High Court and other courts.

The Bench passed the order while hearing an appeal by Reddy and reference by a trial court of Bangalore. On October 27, 2006, the VII Fast Track Court, Bangalore, sentenced Reddy to death for raping and murdering Jayashree (37) in Peenya police station limits on February 28, 1998. Awarding the capital punishment to Reddy, the Fast Track Court had held that the rape and murder came under the category of the “rarest of rare” cases.

Urging the court to confirm this verdict, Mr. Dore Raju submitted that the lower court had based its verdict on the evidence of Jayashree’s eight-year-old son. Reddy, a native of Basappamalige in Hiriyur taluk of Chitradurga district, was employed as a police constable.

His criminal history started in November 1996 when he attempted to rape a girl at KEB Colony in Chitradurga. The victim identified Umesh Reddy when he was participating in a police parade. The Bench asked the public prosecutor about the status of appeals by Reddy in other cases and noted that they would have to be clubbed with this case and heard together. It directed him to obtain details and place them before the court and adjourned further hearing to Monday.

The Hindu

Serial killer Reddy gets death sentence

October 28, 2006

The seventh fast track court on Friday awarded death sentence to serial rapist and killer Umesh Reddy (37) for raping and murdering Jayashree (37) on February 28, 1998. Judge K Sukanya, while delivering the sentence in a packed court room, noted that the crime was of the most heinous kind and the rarest of the rare case.

He deserves the capital punishment as he is a danger to society, said the judge. The court also awarded him 10 years imprisonment for robbery and slapped a fine of Rs 25,000. The sentences will run concurrently.

Jayashree, a former nurse, was raped and killed by Reddy at her house in T Dasarhalli in Peenya. Umesh pleaded for a lesser sentence on the grounds that his father was dead and that he had to look after his aged and ailing mother. He also said that his behaviour in prison was good and that he had taken up a computer course through correspondence.

The judge referred the case to the High Court for deciding on the death penalty. Umesh Reddy was a CRPF constable and had undergone training in Madhya Pradesh in 1994. He had been appointed as a constable with the District Armed Reserve Police force, at Chitradurga.

Several crimes

According to the investigating officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police B N Nyamgowda, Umesh is facing charges in 19 cases including, rape, murder, attempt to rape and robbery. Nyamgowda told Deccan Herald that Umesh was involved in several other crimes, but these have not come to light, because, the victims fear social stigma.

Some of the cases registered against Reddy are also outside Karnataka, where two are registered in Baroda, two in Ahmedabad, five in Peenya, two in Mico Layout, one in Chitradurga, two in Gangammana Gudi, Bangalore District, one in Yeshwanthpur.

Umesh was arrested 13 years ago and had given the police a slip four times. Nyamgowda said Umesh chose his victims after carefully observing them. He always targeted them between 11 am and 3 pm, during which time the male inmates are normally out of the house.

He would gain entry into the house of the victim on various pretexts like asking for water, address, etc. Once inside the house, he would threaten them at knife-point, make them remove their clothes, rape them by tying their limbs. He strangled Jayashree after raping her, said the officer. Umesh has been convicted in two other cases registered in Peenya.

Bangalore's Jack the Ripper gets death

27 Oct 2006

BANGALORE: Umesh Reddy, the dreaded rapist and psycopath killer who terrorised the state in the nineties, has been sentenced to death by fast track court 7 on Friday. Judge K Sukanya while passing the death sentence said: "It is directed that accused Umesh Reddy be hanged till death because he is a menace to society."

Umesh Reddy tried to win the judge's mercy by saying that he was still studying and also that he has to take care of his mother. But that did him no good. The judge also found him guilty for the rape of Jayashree and sentenced him to seven years in jail and a fine of Rs 25,000. She sentenced him to ten years in prison for robbery and a fine of Rs 25,000.

But since the death is the heaviest sentence he will not have to undergo the other sentences. The matter will be referred to the High Court for confirmation of the death sentence. Police inspector Nyama Gowda who nabbed Reddy while he was committing another offence, and prosecutor V K Patil were present in the court.

Umesh Reddy who committed several crimes in Chitradurga and Bangalore North, gave the slip to police many times since 1997 till he was finally nabbed. He is a transvestite: he is known to steal women's garments and wear them in his house. Reddy who was accused in over 15 rape cases, is also accused in the infamous rape and murder of Roopa, which had shocked Chitradurga district in 1996.

Notorious criminal Umesh Reddy nabbed

May 18, 2002

BANGALORE May 17. The notorious criminal, Umesh Reddy, wanted in several cases of rape and murder, was nabbed while walking out of a haircutting saloon in Yeshwanthpur police station limits on Friday morning. Reddy, who escaped from police custody five times, was caught following a tip-off by an autorickshaw driver.

On arrival from Tumkur in a lorry, Reddy went for a haircut around 8 a.m. The autorickshaw driver, Shaktivel, who saw him recollected Reddy's photograph published in a newspaper and called the Yeshwanthpur police. The police inspector, Nagaraja Urs, caught Reddy as he was walking out of the saloon.

Aware of Reddy's past, onlookers, who were witness to the whole drama, wanted to rough him up, but police pacified them and took him away.

Reddy escaped from police custody at Hiriyur bypass on March 4 while he was being brought in a KSRTC bus to Bangalore by the District Armed Reserve (DAR) personnel of Bellary. While police claimed that he was handcuffed at that time, Reddy denied it on his arrest.

During interrogation, he told the Yeshwanthpura police that he consumed liquor along with the escorting policemen and gave them the slip on the pretext of going to answer nature's call.

After his escape, he allegedly committed three rapes and four thefts in Davangere, Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, and Pune.

While working as a server in a Pune hotel, he is said to have stolen money from the hotel cashbox and fled to Dharwad.

Reddy's first escape from police custody was in Parashuramapura in Challakere taluk of Chitradurga District. Later, he gave the slip to the police near Ramapura in the same taluk. He was later caught, but he escaped again.

His fourth escape was from the Central Crime Branch (CCB) custody.

In all, Reddy has 19 cases pending against him, including four in Chitradurga, four in Peenya, two each in MICO Layout and Baroda (Gujarat), and one each in Bellary, Kunigal, Yeshwanthpur, Jalahalli, and Hiriyur.

The City Police Commissioner, H.T. Sangliana, handed over a cheque for Rs. 20,000 to Shaktivel, who was instrumental in securing Reddy's arrest.

Elusive "Jack, the Ripper" nabbed at last

04 March 1998

BANGALORE, March 3: Fugitive, psychopath and former police constable Umesh Reddy, who remained elusive for over nine months, was arrested on Monday by the Peenya police.

Umesh Reddy alias Rajulu alias Ramesh alias Venkatesh was wanted by the police in over 20 rape and robbery cases in the city, state and other states. He had been involved in the sensational rape and murder of Rupa in 1996 at Chitradurga. A Corps of Detectives inquiry is in progress.

Umesh Reddy was involved recently in three cases of rape and murder, including that of Jayashree, a widow. He struck again at another house on Sunday. Acting on a tip-off, city police beefed up their vigil. Their hunch paid off when Umesh Reddy entered the house of Sheeba on the pretext of inquiring about an address and threatened her with a knife. When Sheeba raised an alarm, Umesh Reddy tried to escape. He was apprehended in a joint effort by the public, police and Hoysala patrol team.

Umesh Reddy (30), from Basappa Malige in Chitradurga district, wasserving in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Kashmir. He applied for District Armed Reserve (DAR) in Chitradurga. Before leaving for Karnataka, he raped the daughter of the CRPF commandant and escaped from Kashmir.

While serving in DAR at Chitradurga, he raped two girls, including Rupa. When he tried to rape a high school girl, she escaped by hitting Umesh with a brick and later identified him in the Republic Day Parade. During interrogation, Umesh Reddy confessed to kidnapping, raping and murdering Rupa. He escaped from Bellary jail, while being handed over to the Jail authorities by the DAR police.

After escaping from Bellary jail, Umesh Reddy rented a house in the city and was involved in two similar cases in Mysore and five in the city. He was arrested by the police on July 7, while trying to steal some women's under garments. But he escaped within 24 hours.

When the city and state police tightened their noose around Umesh Reddy, he went to Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Baroda and continued withhis operation. When Mumbai police began to chase him, Umesh returned to the city and hired a room in Madavara village near Peenya. Before leaving Baroda, he robbed the house of Shah, threatened his daughters and decamped with Rs one lakh and a Maruti car.

A psychopath, Umesh had strange habits. He used to attack houses where women stayed alone. He would hold victims at knife point, tie their hands, rape them, kill them and then rob the houses. Umesh also collected the undergarments of women and enjoyed wearing them.

The police recovered cash, gold jewellery and electronic gadgets valued at over Rs 5.5 lakh from him.

1998 Indian Express Newspapers