Gangster's men avenge his death in filmy style

The 12 suspects had come for peace meeting but were fully armed

Associates of slain gangster Vijay Kumar alias Kavala avenged his murder in filmy style by hacking the prime suspect to death and injuring three others during a mediation meeting in Jai Bhim Nagar near Madiwala on Sunday afternoon.

Kavala was murdered on June 24, 2014, near Hosur on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. Nakara Babu, a history-sheeter, was the prime suspect.

Armed with machetes, Kavala’s henchmen fatally attacked Babu and seriously wounded his associates Vishwa, Lakshman and Heeralal when the two sides met to iron out their differences. The injured have been admitted to the St John’s Hospital. Vishwa is said to be critical, top police sources said.

The mediation was held at the house of Rajkamal, a social worker-cum-realtor. A group of 12 men reached the house by three cars around 1.30 pm. Babu and his associates joined them around 1.45 pm. Even as the talks were in progress, Kavala’s associates took out their machetes and knives, and attacked Babu and his men.

As Babu and others ran for their lives, Kavala’s men chased them down and hacked Babu to death and injured three others. Hearing the commotion, passersby rushed to the spot, witnessed the bloody attack and called the police.

Escape

But before the police arrived, the attackers had fled, leaving the injured in a pool of blood. The police took the four of them to the St John’s Hospital where Babu was declared brought dead. Vishwa is said to be critical, while Lakshman and Heeralal are out of danger, the police added.

A senior police officer said, “It is an act of pure vengeance and Kavala’s associates killed Babu to avenge his death. The role of Raj Kamal is suspected as he was the one who had arranged the mediation. We suspect that the attack was pre-planned, and Kavala’s men outnumbered Babu and his aides.

Babu and his associates had not carried any weapons with them, which indicates that none of them were asked to. But Kavala’s men were armed and were prepared for the attack. All this shows that the attack was pre-planned. Raj Kamal is absconding and his interrogation will throw more light on the attack.”

The officer added they had definite leads about the attackers and suspected that Nanjunda, an aide of Kavala, and his men carried out the attack. “CCTV cameras installed near the gate of the house have captured the incident. The assailants will be arrested soon,” the officer said.

Babu was out on bail

Babu and some of his associates, who were arrested for Kavala’s murder, were released on bail some 20 days ago. The Central Crime Branch (CCB) police had arrested Babu and seven others on June 26, two days after Kavala’s murder.

Kavala and Babu were once close associates but drifted apart after things turned sour between them. Each of them had vowed to take revenge but Babu ended up killing Kavala first. Kavala, once a member of Deadly Soma’s gang, later “renounced” the underworld and was driving alone to Tirunelveli in the neighbouring state when the attack took place. After becoming a “reformed” man, Kavala had moved to Tirunelveli where he had started a business.