A civil contractor was killed by unidentified assailants in a brawl at a bar in Basaveshwara Nagar on Thursday night. The victim has been identified as Balaji, 49, a resident of Kengeri.
According to the police, Balaji visited the bar with two of his friends on Thursday. At 9 p.m., the cashier asked everyone to leave due to the night curfew. Patrons rushed to the cashier to settle the bill. As Balaji was walking towards the counter, a group of youth at the table next to him started quarrelling with him. Eyewitnesses told the police that Balaji slapped one of them. The cashier and others intervened and pacified both groups and sent them out. By then it had started to rain.
While his friends left immediately, Balaji chose to stand under a tree to wait for the rain to subside. But the group of youth surrounded him. One of them hit him on his head multiple times with a helmet, injuring him severely. The gang fled as Balaji collapsed. Though he was taken to a nearby private hospital immediately, he succumbed to his injuries later.
The Basaveshwara Nagar police, who have registered a case, have launched a manhunt for the assailants. They have identified them through CCTV footage from the bar.
