Kathriguppe Linga’s family screamed for help as a masked gang hacked him to death.
A notorious rowdy, out on bail on medical grounds, was hacked to death in front of his family on Thursday.
Police said the slain man, Lingaraj alias Kathriguppe Linga, 34, was attacked by a gang of eight masked men at his house in Ittamadavu around 2 pm.
Linga was hacked to death even as his wife, children, sister and mother screamed for help.
The deceased, facing more than 20 cases changed under various sections, had been in judicial custody on charges of dacoity, and was granted bail 15 days ago after he was diagnosed with tuberculosis.
Police said Linga was attacked soon after he had reached home after a hearing at the sessions court. The gang barged into his first floor apartment and repeatedly hacked him, before fleeing the scene on two-wheelers. The floor of his house was splattered with blood.
Inspector Vasudeva Nayak of CK Achchukattu police station said Linga suffered heavy blood loss. His neighbours and family members took him to the nearby DG Hospital in an autorickshaw, but the man died before reaching the hospital.
Police were suspecting that gang rivalry could be the motive of the murder. “He has many rivals. Cycle Ravi is one of the prime suspects, and other gangs operating in the area are believed to be behind this attack. There were frequent clashes between him and other gangs in the past,” assistant commissioner of police (Banashankari) HT Ramesh said.
Joint commissioner of police (Crime) Alok Kumar said Linga had been facing 22 cases, including murder and extortion charges.
“He was also involved in a shocking double murder I have witnessed. In December 2005, he killed a person named Jagga, an associate of his rival Parandama. In retaliation, the rival gang killed one of Linga’s associates, Motte Kumar,” the officer, who visited the murder scene, said.
In a related development, a youth was detained for coercing shopkeepers to down shutters soon after Linga’s murder.
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