Umesh Reddy

Umesh Reddy (born 1969) is a serial killer and serial rapist from India. He confessed to killing 18 women, The police believe that he raped at least 20 women in the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. They also suspect that several of his crimes have not been reported, because the victims feared social stigma.

After being selected in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), he was posted in Jammu and Kashmir. While on duty as a guard at the house of a commandant, he attempted to rape the commandant's daughter. He then fled to Chitradurga district.

Crimes

Reddy carefully selected his victims. He usually targeted housewives between 11 am and 3 pm, when there would be no men at home. He would gain entry into the victims' house on the pretext of asking for water or an address. He then threatened them with a knife, forced them to remove their clothes, tied them up, and raped them. 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, Reddy escaped. He then killed an income tax officer's wife in Bangalore, a girl in Ahmedabad, two girls in Baroda and a widow in Kunigal.

On 28 February 1998, Reddy raped and murdered 37-year-old widow Jayashree Maradi Subbaiah in Peenya. The police believe that he repeatedly had sex with the dead body. Reddy then attempted to rape another woman in Peenya. When the woman raised the alarm, he tried to escape by jumping from the first floor of the house. He sprained his ankle, and was caught by the neighbours, who handed him over to the police. He stated that he bought rum and chicken for the policemen, and earned their trust. When the bus stopped at a dhaba near Hiriyur bypass, he requested the policemen to remove his handcuffs on the pretext that he needed to answer the call of nature. Once free, he ran into the fields and escaped.

Death sentence

Reddy was tried and convicted in 9 cases, including the rape of Jayashree Subbaiah. He was acquitted in 11 cases due to lack of sufficient evidence.

On 4 October 2007, a division bench of the Karnataka High Court also convicted Reddy, but the judges differed on the death sentence. Justice V G Sabhahit upheld the death penalty, but Justice Ravi B Naik advocated rigorous imprisonment for life with no scope for amnesty. A third judge, Justice S. R. Bannurmath, was appointed to resolve the tie. On 18 February 2009, Bannurmath upheld the death sentence, and thus, the High Court confirmed the death penalty for Umesh Reddy. On 1 February 2011, the Supreme Court also upheld the death sentence. Justices Altamas Kabir and A K Pathak argued that Reddy was incapable of rehabilitation, and that his rape and murder of Jayashree fell under "rarest of the rare" category, a requirement for capital punishment in India.

Reddy immediately filed a mercy petition before the President of India. On 7 May 2012, the Government of Karnataka rejected Reddy's mercy plea. Subsequently, the President of India also rejected his mercy petition on 12 May 2013. Reddy then filed a fresh petition, following which on 4 November 2022, the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to 30 years imprisonment.

In popular culture

The Kannada language movie Umesh (2013) is a fictionalized version of Umesh Reddy's life. Khatarnak or Khataranak Umesh Reddy (2013), another Kannada movie, was also based on Umesh Reddy's life. His character was also portrayed by Adi Lokesh in Dandupalya 2 & Dandupalya 3, where he is seen as one of the inmates of Dandupalya gang in Hindalga Prison.

A three-episode documentary called Beast of Bangalore: Indian Predator was released on Netflix on 16 December 2022 depicting Umesh's heinous crimes. The documentary included interviews with local police officials, victims and associates who helped Umesh in some of his crimes.