Umesh Reddy is one of the most infamous serial killers in India. Over his life of crime, he murdered at least 18 women and was convicted of murdering nine by the court. Umesh Reddy was sentenced to death for his heinous crime and is currently awaiting execution. His life is full of irony because while he spent his latter years running away from or avoiding the law, he ran towards it most ironically when he was starting his career. Let’s explore how his life matches that of the evil Ted Bundy who also started out wanting to be a lawyer. 

Umesh Reddy’s Crimes (A Brief Look At The Devil’s Mind) 

The new generation may be familiar with his name. But the details of his actions and background are not well known. A twisted human being, a deranged monster, those are some ways that he can be described. However, there is a lot more to his story than what’s on the surface.

He started his career as a soldier, was a policeman, and had done dozens of jobs in between. He has committed 18 murders and at least 20 rapes. He has been convicted in 9 cases. Umesh Reddy is infamous for his crimes in Gujarat and Maharashtra as well as Karnataka. Over two decades ago, the Umesh Reddy case shocked not only the state but also the nation. Each and every story of a murderer, a rapist escaping from the hands of the police four times and being caught again and again was new and equally thrilling.

Umesh Reddy’s early life as a police officer is ironic: 

Umesh Reddy was born in Chitradurga. His birth name is BA Umesh and he eventually joined the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). He served for some time in Jammu and Kashmir.

While on duty at a commander’s house, he tried to rape his daughter, who had quit the army and come back to Chitradurga. This is his first case known to this world. He returned as a policeman and joined the District Armed Reserve Force. 

Reddy, who was trained as a police officer in Madhya Pradesh, would become a serial killer and rape many people.

When did Umesh Reddy commit his crimes?

Just like Ted Bundy, Umesh Reddy used to commit the act so carefully that the outside world did not know that there was a murderer and a criminal like him. Usually, his targets were housewives. He used to choose the period between 11 AM and 3 PM for his act. Because most of the men were out of the house during this time.

He used to enter the house on the pretext of asking for water or an address, threatened the women with a knife, and asked them to take off their clothes. Then their hands and feet were tied and they were raped. He suffocated his victims and committed the acts while they were unconscious. After the rape, he killed them and escaped with the gold ornaments. By this, the whole incident was painted as a robbery. He escaped with the underwear of the victim. Whenever he was arrested by the police, he was always found wearing women’s underwear.

How was Umesh Reddy arrested the first time?

Umesh Reddy tried to rape a high school girl who was walking in KEB Colony. But the girl escaped from his clutches by hitting him with a stone. Similarly, on December 6, 1996, another 16-year-old girl was raped and murdered in the same area. He was arrested the following month and suspended from service. That arrest itself is a story.

The first girl identified Umesh Reddy at the Republic Day parade. Thus his “legend” unfolded.

How did Umesh Reddy make his first escape?

Along with Reddy, three others went to jail as accused in the murder of a 16-year-old girl (he was later acquitted in the same case in 2004 without proper evidence). While in judicial custody, he escaped in March 1997 when the Chitradurga police handed him over to the Bellary Jail authorities. He came out of jail and committed another act.

An Income tax officer’s wife was murdered in Bengaluru. A young woman in Ahmedabad, two young women in Baroda, and a widow in Kunigal fell victim to his act.

How was Umesh Reddy caught the second time?

He had a strange fantasy of stealing women’s undergarments that were left to dry at the back of houses. Thus on July 7, 1997, he went to steal in Peenya and again became a guest of the police. Ramesh escaped from the hands of the police within 24 hours. He showed his intelligence when he called MICO Layout for trial one.

How was Umesh Reddy caught the third time?

In 1998, a widow was raped and murdered in Peenya. He tried to rape another woman in Peenya, and when she screamed, he jumped from the first floor and got caught breaking his leg. However, he escaped from prison within a year.

In 1999, Reddy escaped again from the police in Hirekerur. But before committing another act, Inspector Nyame Gowda arrested him in Chikkaballapur.

Between 3-4 March 2002 he again escaped from police custody. When he was brought from Bellary to Bangalore in a KSRTC bus, he had fed the police with chili fruit. Reddy, who gained the trust of the police by bringing chicken meal and oil for drinking, asked to visit the toilet at a bus stop and managed to escape. He stayed at large for two months before he was captured again.

In the next two months, he raped three more women in Davangere, Hubli-Dharwad, and Pune. Three mobile phones and two credit cards were stolen. While working in a hotel in Pune, he stole money and clothes and ran to Dharwad.

How was Umesh Reddy captured for good?

Sathyavelu, an auto rickshaw driver, saw Umesh Reddy at Yeshwantpur railway station from Dharwad on May 17, 2002, when he came for a shave and a haircut. He saw the photo in the paper and informed the police and got him arrested. Reddy was wearing a bra and women’s panties and he was found with a bag full of women’s clothing.

What happened in Umesh Reddy’s trial?

He was acquitted in 11 cases without proper evidence, but the charges against him were proved in nine cases. On 26 October 2006, Bengaluru City Fast Track Court Judge K Sukanya sentenced him to multiple sentences. This included the death penalty. Although he asked for an exemption saying that he has to study and take care of his mother, the judge did not agree and gave the sentence. Later the case was referred to the High Court.

What happened to Umesh Reddy in the High Court?

On October 4, 2007, a division bench of the Karnataka High Court convicted him, but the judges could not agree on the death penalty. The judges were split between giving him the death penalty or life imprisonment. To break the stalemate, a third judge was appointed and he upheld the death penalty. Umesh Reddy’s lawyer appealed to the Supreme Court of India but his death penalty was upheld there as well.

What happened to Umesh Reddy’s amnesty petitions?

Umesh Reddy’s amnesty petitions were rejected by both the Karnataka Government and the President Of India. However, Umesh Reddy filed another mercy petition to the Supreme Court, and his death sentence was eventually changed to 30 years of imprisonment in 2022.