No headway in Mahantesh case

BANGALORE: Even a week after KAS officer and the Deputy Director of Directorate of Cooperative Audit S P Mahantesh’s death, the police officers investigating the case are yet to get a lead. Mahantesh was attacked by unidentified assailants near Atria Hotel on Palace Road on May 15 and was admitted to Mallige Hospital the same night, where he succumbed on May 20.Despite forming special teams to crack the case, the police are still groping in the dark for vital clues. Initially, it was suspected that the officer was killed for some professional reasons. However, the investigations led the police to suspect that he had an illicit relationship with a woman and  this might have led to his murder. Even after questioning  the woman, the police failed to get a definite clue, it is said.According to an officer in the investigating team, the probe is heading nowhere as all theories of the murder have gone wrong. “There is not even a single clue about what led to his murder. However, we believe that some personal matters led to this killing. But, we are yet to zero in on any specific lead,” the officer said.He also added that Mahantesh was in constant touch with a woman. “Mahantesh had sent  more than 100 text messages to a woman a week before he was killed. The messages suggest that he was very close to her and she had started avoiding him for a few days. He had asked her why she had stopped talking to him and whether she had any problem with him. However, the woman had not replied to his messages. The woman was also questioned following his murder but it was not helpful in taking the probe ahead, ” the police officer added. The police are waiting for the results from a laboratory in Chennai, to which they have sent the CCTV video footage of a car that allegedly followed Mahantesh’s vehicle.  “The car was parked next to the officer’s car at M S Building just 20 minutes before he left the office. Soon after he left the office, the suspected vehicle followed his car. However, as it was raining, the visuals were not clear and they have been sent for advanced tests to Chennai. We are expecting that we can get clues about the assailants once the test report reaches us,” the officer                added.