Goon held within hours after murders

Manjunath

Police opened fire and arrested a goon within hours after he killed two of his rivals at Konanakunte on Wednesday night.

The accused Manjunath (34) and his 11 associates attacked and killed Murugan (34) and Palani (30) around 9.30 pm on Wednesday with lethal weapons near Chaitra Bar and Restaurant at Weavers Colony near Bannerghatta Road. The entire incident was caught on the CCTV camera installed outside the bar.

Annamalai, the DCP (South) who received the information, formed three teams to nab the attacker.

One of the special teams received a tip-off that Manjunath was waiting near Anjanapura on the NICE Road so as to flee to Tamil Nadu. A team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police T Mahadeva reached the spot to nab him. But Manjunath threw chilli powder at them and tried to escape.

As the police team surrounded him and warned him to surrender, he attacked the police sub-inspector, Subramani with a dagger. In retaliation, the police fired two rounds which hit Manjunath’s legs. He was then arrested and shifted to a hospital.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Murugan and Palani had migrated to the city 15 years ago from Tamil Nadu, and were staying in Weavers Colony along with their families. Murugan and his gang, in 2011, had a fist fight with Manjunath. Further on, both gangs had frequent fights. Murugan and Manjunath were also sent to judicial custody, and released on bail not so long ago.

On Wednesday, when Palani and Murugan came out of the bar and were headed home on their motorcycle, Manjunath who was waiting with his associates attacked and killed them on the spot. The motive behind the murders is gang rivalry according to police sources.

Manjunath was booked for double murder along with Arms Act, and efforts are on to arrest his associates, DCP Annamalai said.