Twenty-seven-year-old Karthik Raj, who was reportedly assaulted on Saturday near Konaje police station, died at a private hospital on Sunday.
Unidentified people assaulted Raj, son of former Mangaluru Taluk Panchayat vice-president Umesh Ganiga, a few metres away from the Konaje police station.
He was hit on his head by a heavy stick while he was jogging from his house in Pajir to a gymnasium in Derlakatte on Saturday. He was in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Deralakatte.
Following Raj’s death, the Konaje police have registered a case of murder. The police are still working on clues and are searching for the accused.
Meanwhile, at a public meeting on Sunday, Vishwa Hindu Parishad joint secretary Surendara Kumar Jain claimed Raj was a victim of revenge killing by from some people from another community.
He said that gou rakshak Prashant Poojary was murdered in Moodbidri last year.
“The perpetrators are roaming freely... You [government] might be lenient against them but we are not. These perpetrators are now in our [Bajrang Dal’s] black list,” he said.
