BENGALURU: It was a scene straight out of a crime movie for mall-goers at Phoenix Marketcity in
Mahadevapura, around 1.30 pm on Friday.
A gang of three men stalked a man walking outside the mall, swords in hand. As they closed in on him, people ran helter-skelter, and watched in horror as they hacked him to death. It was all over in a flash.
The public immediately alerted the police, who reached the spot and identified the dead man as Manjunath, alias Manja, a resident of Kadubeesanahalli, and a known rowdy.
The gory murder, right in front of the mall, spread panic in the area. According to an eye witness, the body lay near the mall for almost an hour – a disturbing sight for many, especially children.
Police said that the deceased was a history-sheeter and had several cases against him in Jeevan Bima Nagar and HAL police stations. He was also booked under the history-sheeter list at Marathahalli police station in 2008.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Manja was involved in the murder of one Dinesh, who was also hacked to death in 2008. Manja was arrested and sent to judicial custody. Police suspect that he could have been murdered due to old rivalry. The police gathered CCTV camera footage to identify the murderers.