Four armed masked men early Wednesday morning hacked to death C.N. Srinivas, a landlord-turned-realtor and husband of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) councillor Manjula Devi.
Srinivas (43) was at a hair salon near his house when the four men barged in and attacked him. They spared the barber. Once done, they drove away towards Hoskote in a SUV, the police said. The Choice Men’s Salon is on Moula Road near the K.R. Puram Government College.
Passersby rushed Srinivas first to a government hospital and later to Manipal Hospital on Old Airport Road, where he died. After post-mortem at Victoria Hospital, his body was returned to the family in the afternoon.
Srinivas, an active member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, leaves behind his wife and children Dhanush (13) and Meghana (8). He was planning to celebrate his daughter’s birthday on a grand scale on Thursday, the police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) P.S. Harsha said two teams were investigating.
The former BJP legislator Nandish Reddy threatened to lay siege to the K.R. Puram police station if the inspector was not transferred immediately.
The former Home Minister Ashok alleged that Congress leaders and workers were targeting their BJP counterparts in K.R. Puram. Srinivas was with the Congress until 2008 when he joined the BJP.
Businesses in K.R. Puram shut shop following the killing. “Srinivas was facing a threat to his life. He was into real estate and planned to develop a layout near Anekal. Business rivalry could also be a motive for the murder,” said Santosh Reddy, a friend of Srinivas.
In April, 2013, masked men tried to attack Srinivas, but he escaped. Police at the time said they had arrested the attackers and had them sent to jail.
The accused were released on bail, but Srinivas had not been given security cover, said his family.
On January 23 this year, Srinivas was part of protests against Congress workers in the K.R. Puram area who had allegedly beaten up BJP activists.
