JOIN USFormer Mayor of Tumakuru City and Batawadi corporator Ravi Kumar of JD(S) was hacked to death on Sunday morning in full public view. He was having tea after a morning walk near a roadside stall when the incident occurred around 8 am at Batawadi area, said the police.
About seven men reached the tea stall in a goods vehicle. One of them pretended to buy tea and cigarette and diverted the attention of others at the stall. Another man threw chilly powder in his eyes. Soon, the suspects chased him as he started running to safety and attacked him with machetes and sharp-edged weapons, killing him on the spot, added the police.
He was immediately taken to Tumakuru District Government Hospital, but was declared dead on arrival by doctors. The assailants abandoned the vehicle near Akka Tangi Lake in the vicinity, boarded another vehicle and sped away.
The police suspected old rivalry as a cause for the murder. Three teams have been formed to arrest the assailants. Ravi Kumar, a gangster-turned-politician, was elected as a corporator in the recent local body elections. Several criminal cases were pending against him.
Ravi Kumar was a suspect in the murder of Hatti Manjanna, a rival gang leader in 2015. He was a close aide of Small Scale Industries minister S R Srinivas. His trusted friend Anjanappa, also a rowdy sheeter, was killed by rival gang members recently.
He was into real estate and private financing. He successfully contested from ward 22 for the erstwhile CMC in 2013. Based on the reservation facility, he served as deputy mayor and mayor between 2016-17.
Anjaneya, the member ward 22 of CMC between 2008-13 was hacked to death in a similar way near Batawadi Fire Station. Ravi Kumar was a close friend of Anjaneya. The daylight murdered shocked residents and a large number of people gathered at the spot. The body was lying on the road for over one hour.
Family members were highly inconsolable. The body was shifted to the hospital for post-mortem.