A 32-year-old man wanted in several criminal cases was hacked to death in front of his girlfriend while he was returning home at Begur in Electronic City police station limits here on Sunday.
The man was identified as Shivakumar alias Shivarudra, a resident of Subramanyapura near Uttarahalli. Shivakumar, a history-sheeter in SJ Park and Sampangiramnagar police station limits, was said to be involved in several criminal cases, including three murders.
The police suspected rivalry to be the reason for the attack, as he was one of the main accused in the murder of Velu, who was hacked to death on November 29. The police suspected the hand of Velu’s brother, Shanmugam and his associates, in Shivakumar’s murder.
At 10.30 a.m., Shivakumar and his girlfriend were being driven home by his driver in a car, when two vehicles waylaid them.
The police said that five assailants jumped out of the two vehicles armed with lethal weapons. The gang then hacked Shivakumar to death and escaped in their vehicles leaving the weapons behind.
The girl raised an alarm seeking help from passers-by but those who witnessed the attack stood helplessly.
The Electronic City police rushed to the spot. The body was shifted to Victoria Hospital. Efforts are on to arrest the culprits, while the police have also launched a search for the driver who has gone missing.
