Beast of Bangalore Indian Predator investigates the story of a dangerous predator on the streets of Bangalore – lurking in the shadows and leaving women feeling unsafe, who changed the whole landscape of this city.
It is the latest and the fourth instalment in the true crime documentary series, released on Netflix on 16th December 2022. The series is written and directed by Ashwin Rai Shetty and executive produced by Samaira Kanwar, Vatsala Aron and Niharika Kotwal. The three-part docuseries has a runtime of about 42-52 minutes.
Netflix’s description of the series reads:
A VICIOUS PREDATOR’S BRUTAL — AND MURDEROUS — PURSUIT OF WOMEN SENDS A FALTERING POLICE FORCE ON A WILD HUNT, WHILE A STATE REELS IN TERROR.
Beast of Bangalore Indian Predator: How was Umesh Reddy Caught?
Starting in the year 1996, fear ripples through Chitradurga when a young woman is murdered amid horrific cases of assault. A frantic probe leads to an unexpected suspect. On 13 November 1996, a female government employee was assaulted on her way back home through the isolated farmlands. The woman was completely stripped off and even the ornaments she was wearing were ripped off from her ears and nose.
This incident leads to more such assaults in the area and the ultimate murder of an innocent teenage girl, named Pallavi. She had been raped and then smothered when she had gone out at 6 PM to get the floor from the mill. When the police were investigating the matter, they learned that another woman named Geeta was attacked but was saved by her father who was behind her on the way.
Their investigation identified the man as an officer in training who was last seen at the RD parade rehearsals. His name was Umesh Reddy and once he was identified, police captured him. Upon searching his room, they found several pieces of women’s undergarments and other jewellery, but nothing related to Pallavi or her anklet which had the engraving A1.
He was released on bail soon after, due to a lack of evidence but was caught again after a few months in a village in Bangalore, where he tried to rob a woman but people caught him on time. No case was filed but it was brought to the authorities’ attention that Umesh already had cases against him in Chitradurga. But this time, he changes his statement regarding Pallavi’s rape and murder, stating that it was a group of his friends who committed the act.
Reddy, along with four others, was charged with Pallavi’s murder, and remanded to judicial custody. A court asked him to be shifted to Bellary jail. In March 1997, while the Chitradurga police were handing him over to the Bellary prison authorities, he escaped. During 1997 and 1998 he committed various crimes where he would target housewives and assault them in their own homes; also stealing valuables and their clothes.
On 28 February 1998, Reddy raped and murdered 37-year-old widow Jayashree in Peenya. The police believe that he repeatedly had sex with the dead body. When her 8-year-old son Suresh came home, he saw Reddy in his house. Reddy told the boy that she was possessed, so he tied her to the window grill. He then fled saying that he was going to get a doctor.
Between 1998 and 2002, Umesh managed to get away from the police on two more occasions bringing his total of successful escape attempts to 5. He was finally caught in 2002 when an autorickshaw driver found him getting a haircut right near the police station. He tipped off the police who followed him and was arrested near the train station. At first, Reddy claimed to be somebody else but admitted later.
He was tried and convicted in 9 cases, including the rape and murder of Jayashree. He was acquitted in 11 cases of assault and robbery due to a lack of sufficient evidence. Many victims refused to take part in the proceedings due to the humiliation, they would have to face. On 26 October 2006, Judge K Sukanya of the Bangalore city fast-track court gave him multiple sentences including a death sentence.
Where is Umesh Reddy Now?
Umesh Reddy has been lodged in the Belagavi jail since 2011, but on 4 November 2022, the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to 30 years imprisonment, on the grounds that he had been placed in solitary confinement for 10 years.
Beast of Bangalore Indian Predator is currently streaming on Netflix.