Man hacked to death inside Bangalore Football Stadium

A 27-year-old history-sheeter was hacked to death inside the Bangalore Football Stadium on Sunday, moments before a match between two women’s teams was to begin.

The deceased has been identified as Aravind, a football enthusiast, who, police said, was playing at the BBMP ground opposite the stadium.

Around 4 pm, four miscreants entered the ground with lethal weapons. Aravind ran into the nearby football stadium, where the women’s teams were getting ready and lining up to go out. The assailants chased Aravind, who ran into the upper stand, jumped down and took shelter in the referee’s room. He locked himself inside the room but the gang broke open the lock and attacked him. He died on the spot, police said.

Police suspect old rivalry behind the murder. The jurisdictional Ashok Nagar police registered a case. Aravind was passionate about football and had formed a team. “On Sunday, a tournament was organised at the ground, where he played with his team,” police said.

The Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) said the victim had no affiliation with the state or district federation.

“It is an unfortunate incident, totally unconnected to football in Bengaluru. He had no affiliation with any clubs, KSFA or BDFA. the federation is cooperating with the investigation,” KSFA secretary M Satyanarayan said.

The stadium is currently hosting a women’s football tournament — KSFA Sporting Planet Trophy — and the incident happened just as the second match of the day between Roots FC and GRK was set to kick off.

A team official said the players were safe but chose not to speak further.

On the back of the incident, the state association has decided to postpone the ongoing women’s tournament and the women’s camp that was penciled for the week until further notice.

Central DCP M N Anucheth said they were looking into the CCTV camera footage at the crime spot as well as from the surrounding areas. “Two special teams have been set up to nab the accused,” he said.

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