The two men, accused of killing Sarala Vaastu fame Chandrashekar Guruji in Karnataka, have revealed during the investigation that they committed the crime because they were 'tortured' by him and his supporters.

Mahantesh Shiraoora and Manjunath Marewad, who stabbed Guruji to death at a private hotel lobby, claimed that he did not let them lead their life peacefully.

K'taka Vaastu expert murder: Could not tolerate his torture, claim accused during probe

Chandrashekar Guruji, the popular Vaastu expert in Karnataka was brutally killed by two former employees in Hubballi on Tuesday. The accused were nabbed by the police within four hours after the incident.

The accused told police that after quitting their jobs, they were self- employed and also carried out real estate business. However, Guruji and his associates tortured them on every day basis. Not being able to bear the torture, they took the drastic step, police sources said.

The police have been grilling the accused persons at an unknown location to find out the exact cause and conspiracy behind the murder.

The accused maintained that Guruji troubled them at every step and did not let them live peacefully. The police have taken them into their custody for six days.

The post-mortem report has suggested that the accused stabbed Guruji 42 times. The accused also slit his throat.

Guruji regularly featured on television and was one of the known faces in the state.

Police sources said that Guruji had bought properties in the name of former employee Vanajakshi, who is Mahantesh Shiraoora's wife. Guruji's firm suffered losses during the Covid-19 pandemic, and asked Vanajakshi to return the property to him.

However, Shiraoora did not want to return the property. Guruji had been pressurising them to return the property and had threatened to kill them, police sources said.