Pvt firm MD and CEO hacked to death in office by former employee

BENGALURU: The managing director and the CEO of a private firm were murdered by a disgruntled former employee at Amruthahalli in the city on Tuesday.

The firm’s MD Phanindra Subramaniam and the accused Felix.

The deceased are Aironics Media Pvt Ltd MD Phanindra Subramaniam and CEO Vinu Kumar. They were murdered in the office by Felix and two of his associates around 4 pm. The trio had managed to to gain entry and attacked them with swords and knives.

The trio murdered one of them on the ground floor and the other on the first floor. They then jumped over the compound wall at the rear of the building and made good their escape.

The Aironics Media Pvt Ltd office in Amruthahalli where the double murder took place.

Felix formerly worked with Aironics and had quit the job to start his own venture. Phanindra Subramaniam was his direct competitor in the business and hence Felix decided to eliminate him, according to preliminary investigation.

The accused ‘Joker Felix’ was popular on TikTok and six before the double murder, he had posted a status message on Instagram stating that there are many people who deceive others. “I will hurt those who deceive, I will hurt bad people, but I will not hurt good people”, his status message said.

After committing the murder, Felix surprisingly posted a screenshot of Public TV’s coverage of the double murder with a picture of both Phanindra and himself.

Additional Commissioner of Police Raman Gupta briefing the media about the double murder.

Northeast division Deputy Commissioner of Police Lakshmiprasad said three people were involved in the double murder and they have clues about one of the assailants. “The company was set up six months ago and and we are also looking into the angle of pro-Hindutva posts on Facebook by the MD Phanindra Subramaniam. Prima facie, it does not seem to be linked to the Facebook posts”, the DCP said.

The DCP said that prior to committing the double murder, Felix and his two associates spoke to Phanindra for about half an hour when about 10-12 employees were still around. The trio then suddenly attacked Phanindra with deadly weapons and though he tried to save himself, he sustained injuries on the head and in the stomach. “Some of the employees rushed to Phanindra’s rescue, but Felix and the two others threatened them with weapons”, the DCP said. All the three were earlier working with ZeeNet on Bannerghatta Road, he added.

Additional Police Commissioner Raman Gupta said, “The double murder was carried out around 4 pm by the trio using sharp weapons. Some of the employees who were present shifted the MD and the CEO to hospital. We have clues about two of the attackers, but the exact motive is yet to be established. The accused had started their own firm about seven months ago and a detailed investigation will throw more light”, he said.