TUMAKURU: Tension prevailed at Bugudanahalli village near here when neighbours fought with each other using sickle, stones and logs, reminiscing the stone age, over a property row.
The live video shot by a private TV channel went viral on the social networking sites.
A former gram panchayat member Lakshminarayanappa of Congress who invited the TV channel crew to cover the scene was also injured in the melee and was admitted to a hospital here.
His neighbour Venkataramaiah and his son B V Lakshminarayana, an LIC agent, who attacked the victim, were booked on charges of attempt to murder. A counter case was also filed against the former GP member.
Background Venkataramaiah and his son B V Lakshminarayana had allegedly encroached upon a site and constructed a wall. Their rival Lakshminarayanappa wanted to clear it on his own, with the support of the private TV channel crew shooting the eviction drive.
But the accused wielding weapons attacked him and the latter too countered. The women and children of both the families too were involved in the fight which entertained the onlookers for sometime.
The victim’s son Ashok, a videographer, who was working with THS hospital’s laboratory here, too allegedly incited the incident, Hemanth, a resident, told Express.
Both the accused and the victims were distant relatives and belonged to backward class Uppara community.
“These kinds of fight in broad daylight reminisce the feudal system and an indication of the law and problem. It may be recalled that a man had allegedly killed a boy in broad daylight over a property dispute last year in the same village,” said K N Puttalingaiah, a keen observer of the crime scene of the district.
The incident was a black mark on Tumakuru which has been selected for the smart city project by the Union government, remarked Bhanuprakash, an activist. Speaking to Express, SP Karthik Reddy clarified that it was a dispute between two families and it cannot be equated with the law and order situation.
Both Venkataramaiah and Lakshminarayan, former GP member, were arrested.
