Ex-corporator fatally hacked by gang of 15 near home

A former JD(S) corporator was chased down and brutally hacked to death in  broad daylight by a gang of 15, just 200 metres from his house  in  Hegganahalli, North Bengaluru, on Saturday. Police suspect old political rivalry behind the murder.  

M B  Govinde Gowda (58), who represented Hegganahalli in the BBMP council from 2010 to 2015, tried to dash into the Mathrushree Kalyana Mantapa but the assailants chased him down before hacking him with machetes and longs. The incident occurred  between 5 pm and 5.30 pm, police said.

Passersby took Gowda to a hospital in Sunkadakatte but he died on the way. Meanwhile, the jurisdictional Rajagopalanagar police rushed to the spot and conducted an inspection. They opened a case of murder after Gowda's family filed a complaint.  

Police suspect the murder stemmed from the violent rivalry between two gangs.  

In  November 2016, Gowda and his wife, Varamahalakshmi (48), were arrested for hiring a gang of supari killers to eliminate their rival, Chikkathimme Gowda, a local BJP leader. Chikkathimme Gowda was once an associate of Govinde Gowda's and had helped him win the BBMP election in 2010. But in 2015, he  joined the BJP and ensured the defeat of Varamahalakshmi, who had contested the polls on the JD(S) ticket. The couple reportedly vowed to eliminate him.  Police said Chikkathimme Gowda's killing was carried out at the behest of Govinde Gowda. They arrested the couple who later came out on bail.  

Police suspect the rival gang planned and carried out the murderous attack on Govinde Gowda.  

DCP (North) Chethan Rathor Singh said: "We have definite clues about the assailants and are tracking them. We are also verifying the exact number of assailants."  

DH News Service