BALLARI: A Congress corporator with an ambition of contesting in the upcoming state assembly elections was attacked by a group of eight men outside his house on Thursday night.
The attackers threw chilli powder at him and tried to kill him leading to his supporters rushing to his rescue and a fight between both the groups.
This is the first politically motivated violence the city seen in a decade. In his complaint, Andral Seetaram, Congress corporator, said that he was attacked as his candidature for the Ballari rural had been approved by the party.
According to Seetaram, he was returning home when a group of eight which had been following him in auto-rickshaws threw chilli powder at him. Seetaram immediately realised the intent and raised an alarm. His group of followers rushed to him and started fighting the attackers who quickly retreated in the auto rickshaws. However, one person was nabbed by the corporator and turned over to the police.
During interrogation, the arrested person told the police that they were hired killers who had come from Tadpatri in Ananthpur district of Andhra Pradesh.
Seetharam is a corporator from Congress ward no 8.
According to the police the attackers might have watched Seetaram for a couple of weeks before making a move.
Seetaram himself has a reputation as a history-sheeter and has in the past been booked for various cases before entering into politics. There were several attempts on his life earlier too. The Ballari Police is investigating the matter.