BENGALURU: Soon after news about the murder of BJP leader Kittaganahalli Srinivas spread, his supporters came out in protest and blocked Hosur Main Road for nearly two hours from 8am on Tuesday. Police had to resort to mild caning to disperse the crowd. Security has been beefed up in the area to prevent any untoward incident. Two KSRP platoons have been deployed and senior police officials are monitoring the situation.
Cong worker a suspect?
Bengaluru Rural police, who are probing the case, suspect the involvement of Congress worker ‘Gym’ Manju. A senior police officer said Manju is one of the prime accused in the case and added that he is absconding after the murder. “After preliminary investigations, it is clear that it is a case of political rivalry and the assailants might have been contract killers,” he said.
The post of chairperson of Bommasandra Town Municipal Council was reserved for men as per the roster, which was later changed to women by the Congress government. Srinivas and other BJP members had challenged this in court twice and succeeded. Manju was upset that his mother could not become the chairperson and this could be the reason behind him hatching a plot to kill Srinivas, the police officer said.
According to police sources, Srinivas had disputes with some in the area. He had once received a death threat, police said. “We are investigating this angle as well. His phone call details have been collected by senior officers as part of the investigation,” the source added.
Srinivas always drove alone to the park where he went for his morning walks and the assailants knew this.