Two days after a gang hacked to death rowdy Suneel, the west division police in a prompt action arrested a 26-year-old rowdy-sheeter along with eight of his associates for the murder on Friday.
A special team of police nabbed the gang within 36 hours from the neighbouring Andhara Pradesh, where they had taken shelter.
The accused have been identified as Nagaraj alias Spot Naga, from Basaveshwara Nagar. He has eight criminal cases pending against him. His associates Nandisha (19), Ramesh (25), Kumara (24), Vinay (21), Gururaj (24), Khadar (28), Umair Khan (23) and a juvenile, were also arrested.
According to the police, Suneel, soon after coming out of prison on bail, was discussing a plan to eliminate Spot Naga with his associates at a local bar. The police, on a tip off, raided the bar and picked up three persons. But, Suneel managed to escape. "Had the police arrested Suneel on that day, he would have been safe,” a police officer said.
Spot Naga who came to know about the plot decided to attack Suneel first. Naga kept a close watch on Suneel. On Wednesday, after his associate confirmed that Suneel was out of his house, Naga attacked him. As soon Suneel spotted Naga, he ran inside the house, but Naga and his associates barged into the house and dragged Suneel out and hacked him to death. In the melee, Suneel's mother Usha and grandfather Tyagaraju were injured.
Additional Commissioner of Police (west) Malini Krishnamurthy said that it was shocking incident of accused clashing in public. "We are going strengthen crime squad operation in the area and intensify the beat system to prevent such crimes in future,” she said.
