the early 1990s of Bangalore and its nearby towns were haunted by a serial killer.
In the veil of darkness, in broad daylight, he entered, burglarized houses, and assaulted and killed women. Umesh Reddy's name was whispered as a warning to children and women. His name evoked fear and wrath. In Chitradurga, he attempted to assault a woman. But when that plan failed, he ripped her jewelry from her ears and nose. He left with all her clothes. Bleeding and naked, the woman begged for mercy. Soon, he went hunting again. This time again, his plans were foiled. The father of the girl chased him away. But this time, his face was seen. And the girl saw it again. Umesh Reddy was training to be a police constable. He paraded around town in the police uniform. The very person that vowed to save and protect the people was a demon in disguise. Even though Umesh Reddy was arrested, he managed to slip through the hands of the law. Later he struck again. He abducted an underage girl, Pallavi, sexually assaulted her, and throttled her. This time he was arrested again, but he managed to evade the law again. The police it seemed were caught in a cat-and-mouse with Umesh Reddy. He would escape again and again. He left Bangalore and Chitradurga for some time. But soon, his terror reigned again. In the late 1990s, he came back to Bangalore, committing even more heinous crimes. He was arrested and managed to escape again. But soon, he was caught. And this time, he was imprisoned for life.
Bangalore's predator is about crime against women. Yet the women are grossly misrepresented. Their voices were silenced by their fear and shame. Shame at being assaulted overrode their need for justice. In a lot of cases where the assault was accompanied by burglary, the women preferred to lodge complaints for theft rather than sexual assault. Even though they fought for their lives with bravery that can only be imagined, when it came to identifying him in a court of law, they preferred not to turn up. Umesh Reddy is no different that the beasts we often meet on Netflix's true crime documents, but what stood out for the cops was his interest in cross-dressing. His fetishism. More than the need to put him behind bars for the murder, the cops wanted to arrest him for his anomaly. Umesh Reddy may be living his life in prison, but his victims are still imprisoned by the consequences of his crime.
By SB
