Pramesh S Jain
A 29-year-old rowdy sheeter was hacked to death by a group of unidentified assailants on the busy JP Nagar Main Road on Saturday.
Senior officer told reporters that suspect to be a revenge killing linked to old gangs rivalries.
The deceased,identified as Raja alias Halmurka Raja,a resident of Pragathipura,was attacked around 5.30 pm near Indira Gandhi (IG) Circle under the jurisdiction of the JP Nagar police station.
He further said Raja had stopped for tea and was walking along the roadside when four to five armed assailants suddenly attacked him with machetes and other sharp weapons.
He attempted to flee but was chased down and repeatedly hacked in full public view amid heavy traffic before the attackers escaped.
Police rushed to the spot,shifted the body for postmortem examination and registered a murder case.
CCTV footage from the area is being examined, and a manhunt has been launched to trace the accused.
Priliminary probe revealed that the murder was the result of longstanding gang rivalry.
Raja was a rowdy sheeter with several criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder and robbery.
Police said he had been named in the sensational murder case of Banashankari rowdy “Stand Kutti”which took place nearly a decade ago.
He had reportedly spent time in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison along with another accused in that case before securing bail.
Though Raja had claimed in recent years that he had reconciled with Kutti’s associates and had stayed away from criminal activities,police are probing whether Saturday’s murder was an act of revenge connected to that case.
Sources in the police said Raja was previously associated with notorious south Bengaluru rowdy gangs and had allegedly worked with several underworld operatives.
He was also accused in other murder cases,including a double murder under the Subramanyapura police limits.
The killing has once again raised concerns over renewed gang rivalry in Bengaluru’s southern area.
The police had stepped up anti rowdy activities and formed special teams at station level to monitor and take action to curb the menace.Further investigation is underway.
