Man killed over financial dispute

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: In a shocking incident, a 29-year-old man was hacked to death by two miscreants on Wednesday, while he was riding a bike near Banaswadi.

A resident of Chikka Banaswadi, Shekhar died after being mercilessly beaten by the two unidentified persons, police said. It has been revealed that Shekhar was an autorickshaw driver but had also started financing shortterm loans recently.

Police suspect that he may have been murdered over a financial dispute. Deputy Commissioner of Police, East, Bheemashankar S Guled who inspected the spot on Wednesday morning, said that the incident had took place around 12.30 am.

"Two persons on a bike blocked Shekhar while he was riding back home during the wee hours and assaulted him with sticks. One of them also stabbed Shekhar 3-4 times in the chest and stomach," he said. Noticing the bludgeoned body lying on the road, a passer-by alerted the police following which a Hoysala team reached the spot and shifted Shekhar to a hospital. However, he died on the way, police said.

According to sources, the incident took place very near Shekhar's house. The police have retrieved the CCTV footage of the incident and are probing to ascertain the identities of the accused persons. Preliminary police investigation has revealed that Shekhar had an argument with several persons to whom he had lent money recently.

 "On Tuesday night, Shekhar asked a person, identified as Manoj, to return the money he had taken from him," sources added. DCP Guled said that prima facie, it seems that two people were involved in the murder and added that the Banaswadi police are on the lookout for the attackers.