Bengaluru, May 8 : Karnataka Police on Friday arrested five persons in connection with the murder of a woman, allegedly plotted by staging a road accident in Bengaluru.

The incident came to light within the limits of the Mahalakshmi Layout police station.

The arrested accused have been identified as Rakesh, Chetan, Pradeep, and Yohan. Another accused, Manjunath, who was involved in the case, died of illness while being investigated. The deceased woman has been identified as Vijayalaxmi, a resident of Mahalakshmi Layout.

According to the police, an accident case involving Vijayalaxmi was reported on April 21 near Kurubarahalli Pipeline Road. The accused had themselves lodged a police complaint and pretended to have attempted to save her after staging the accident.

The investigation revealed that the accused Chetan had earlier taken a loan from the victim and was aware that she possessed a substantial amount of money and gold jewellery. He allegedly conspired with his friends to commit theft at Vijayalaxmiâ??s residence.

On April 21, while Vijayalaxmi was walking near Pipeline Road, the accused Rakesh allegedly rammed his bike into her with full force. As per the plan, the other accused, who were travelling in an autorickshaw, shifted her to a hospital. While admitting her to the hospital, Manjunath, the accused, allegedly stealthily stole the house key from her purse.

Manjunath then went to Vijayalaxmiâ??s house and allegedly attempted to commit theft. However, neighbours grew suspicious of his movements and questioned him. He reportedly told them that he had come to collect an Aadhaar card before fleeing the spot. Later, the house owner, suspecting foul play, lodged a complaint with the police regarding the attempted theft.

Meanwhile, accused Rakesh himself approached the traffic police station and lodged a complaint claiming that an unidentified vehicle had hit the victim and that he had rescued her by shifting her to the hospital. He also claimed that he had saved her life.

However, Vijayalaxmi later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital. During the investigation into the attempted theft case, the Mahalakshmi Layout police gathered information about Vijayalaxmi and examined CCTV footage, which revealed the movements of the accused persons.

After tracking down and arresting the accused, the police obtained their confession, in which they allegedly admitted to committing the crime with the intention of robbing Vijayalaxmiâ??s house of money and jewellery.

The police have registered cases of murder and robbery against the accused and have taken up further investigation.

/IANS