Brigade Road bar owner's murder 'a result of old rivalry'

A woman walks past Duet, the bar run by Manish Shetty on Rest House Road, Bengaluru, on Friday. DH PHOTO/PUSHKAR V

Police suspect old rivalry behind the murder of Manish Shetty alias Sarvatham, who was shot dead outside his bar off Brigade Road, central Bengaluru, on Thursday night.

Shetty, 45, was fatally attacked with a single-barrel breech-loading gun and a lethal non-firearm by two men on a scooter around 9 pm. Shetty ran Duet, a well-known bar on Rest House Road. He had just stepped out of the bar when the killers came in. A native of Koppa, Chikkamagaluru, he was believed to be a close associate of underworld gangsters Bannanje Raja and Ravi Pujari.

Five special teams under Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) M N Anucheth are at work to nab the killers, who had abandoned their scooter and helmets while escaping after the daring murder. Police are tracing the owner of the scooter and the helmets.

While one police team is reviewing the CCTV footage of the crime spot, Brigade Road, Church Street, MG Road and the surrounding areas, another has gone to Mangaluru. A third team is in Shetty’s hometown while the fourth one will leave for Mumbai shortly.

Police are also looking into the cases registered against Shetty in Mumbai, Mangaluru and Bengaluru, including a heist at Chemmanur Jewellers in 2007. Anucheth told DH they were yet to get a lead.