Court bars media from linking Prasad Rao Kamineni to Electronic City murder

A Bengaluru court on Tuesday granted a temporary injunction restraining 58 media outlets from broadcasting or publishing reports linking real estate businessman Prasad Rao Kamineni to the murder of Vijay Yadav, a 32-year-old gym trainer who was based in Electronic City. The injunction prevents outlets, including TV9 Karnataka, from disseminating content that connects Kamineni to the crime.

Kamineni, who is currently evading arrest, approached the court arguing that media broadcasts linking him to the murder would cause irreparable damage to his personal and professional reputation. The court reviewed screenshots of news headlines and photographs provided by Kamineni that directly linked him to the crime.

The bench noted a legal discrepancy in the media coverage, pointing out that the FIR related to the case did not name any specific individual as an accused, instead listing the accused as "not known." The court observed that telecasting defamatory statements would harm Kamineni's right to dignity of living, thereby justifying the temporary injunction.

The case began on June 6 when Yadav went missing from Electronic City. On June 9, his badly decomposed body was discovered in a forested stretch near Bannerghatta National Park. Due to the condition of the body, the Bengaluru Rural police initially registered an FIR for the murder of an unidentified person by unknown assailants.

Using call detail records and technical surveillance, police identified the victim and arrested four contract killers from Anekal on June 21: Srirama, Sumith, Venkateshaiah, and Babu. According to police sources, Yadav had previously eloped with Kamineni's daughter, who later returned to her family. Yadav's family alleged that Kamineni orchestrated a contract killing to end the relationship.

While Kamineni's wife, Sandhya, released a video claiming police falsely implicated her husband, the Bengaluru Rural police dismissed these allegations as baseless. Police stated that evidence collected during the investigation, including scientific and technical evidence, points to the involvement of the realtor and his associates.