Violence claimed its first victim of 2013 in the city. Karthik, a 23-year-old IT professional, who was bludgeoned to death 90 minutes into the new year, as he celebrated along with his friends at a hotel near South End Circle in south Bangalore.
According to the police, Karthik, a native of a Coimbatore, was working in Chennai.
At 1.30am on Tuesday, the Siddapura Police was informed that a person was lying on the road in front of La Marvela Hotel.
Police officers who rushed to the spot initially thought Karthik had fallen off an autorickshaw. He was admitted to St Johns hospital where he died of injuries.
After initially registering a case of unnatural death, the police later registered a case of murder, after noticing multiple stab wounds on the body.
“Karthik was stabbed to death by his friends following a drunken brawl in front of a hotel on New Year’s night. He suffered stab injuries in his stomach, face and thigh,” City police commissioner Jyothi Prakash Mirji said.
He said three of Karthik’s friends, who also hail from Tamil Nadu, were taken into custody for interrogation. Two special teams have been formed to nab the culprits, one team is already in Tamil Nadu. Deputy commissioner of police (south) HS Revanna said, “The La Marvela hotel management informed us that eight persons, including Karthik, had come for a New Year’s party at their hotel. They got into a brawl and the bouncers escorted all eight out of the hotel premises.” The hotel management were not aware of what happened later, he added.
The police are examining the CCTV footage from the hotel. The police suspect the row could have taken place over two girls who were present at the party but, admit that there is no definitive clue about the motive behind the killing.
According to sources in the police department, Karthik booked his tickets to Bangalore online and called his friends in the city and planned the party. Karthik worked in a city software firm earlier and had acquaintances and was familiar with the city. The police has shifted the body to Victoria Hospital mortuary, and are awaiting the arrival of Karthik’s parents.
