Fifth arrest in Bengaluru gym trainer murder; man held for disposing of body

3 min readBengaluruJul 3, 2026 02:11 PM IST

The decomposed body of Vijay Kumar was found near the Bannerghatta forest on the outskirts of Bengaluru on June 9. (File Photo)

The Karnataka Police have arrested a man who allegedly helped the four main accused dispose of the body of a gym trainer near the Bannerghatta forest on the outskirts of Bengaluru three days after the victim went missing on June 6.

Sources said the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) built on evidence collected by the Bannerghatta police before taking Vikas into custody Wednesday from Hoskote.

The decomposed body of Vijay Kumar was found near the Bannerghatta forest on the outskirts of Bengaluru on June 9.

The case was transferred to the CID on June 29 after allegations surfaced against a senior Karnataka Police officer by the wife of a key suspect, a real estate businessman accused of masterminding the killing.

Previous arrests

The First Information Report (FIR) was initially registered on June 9 for the murder of an unknown person before Vijay’s family, who tried to file a missing person complaint, identified the body found in the Bannerghatta police limits as that of the gym trainer.

The police then arrested four men — Srirama, Sumith, Venkateshaiah and Babu — based on the call detail records (CDR) and other evidence and said they lured the gym trainer to a drinking party on June 6 in Anekal, killed him, and later attempted to dispose of the body.

According to the investigation, the accused had initially planned to dump the body across the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border to mislead investigators. However, after the plan failed, they allegedly sought Vikas Kumar’s help to dispose of the body in the Bannerghatta forest, where it was later discovered by locals.

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The police have said the murder was carried out on the instructions of a real estate businessman over Vijay Kumar’s relationship with the businessman’s daughter, with whom he had reportedly eloped in 2023. The businessman remains absconding.

The Bengaluru Rural Police have denied allegations that they falsely implicated the businessman or sought favours from him, describing the claims as an attempt to derail the investigation.