Autorickshaw driver murdered by three 'relatives'

A 30-year-old autorickshaw driver was murdered in broad daylight in Kamalanagar near Basaveshwarnagar on Thursday, by three men who are suspected to be his relatives.

Three men arrived at Bhaskar’s home in Kamalanagar on Wednesday night and had a heated argument with him. They threatened him with “dire consequences” over a matter police said was yet to be ascertained.

Around 2 pm on Thursday, some unidentified men waylaid Bhaskar as he was walking home and stabbed him in the chest and abdomen. He bled profusely and died on the spot. Eyewitnesses then called the police. The assailants fled before the police reached the spot.

A senior police officer said the motive behind the murder was yet to be ascertained and little information was available about the assailants. “The neighbours say the attackers might be Bhaskar’s relatives. One of the attackers was later identified as Umesh but the identity of the two others is not known yet,” the officer said on the condition of anonymity. Bhaskar’s elder brother has made a complaint to the police.

Man sets self afire

A 45-year-old man, who worked as a manager at an electronics goods store, reportedly committed suicide by setting himself on fire at his home at MD Block in Malleswaram in the early hours of Thursday.

Babu, the deceased, locked himself in his bedroom around 1 am on Thursday and doused himself in kerosene. He then set himself afire, police said. His mother, who was asleep in another room, woke up to the smell of something burning. She noticed smoke in Babu’s bedroom. She called neighbours for help. Soon, Malleswaram police were called.

Police said Babu had diabetes and suffered from other diseases too. He was single and depressed about his ill health.

A case of unnatural death has been registered.