BENGALURU: Former Vice-Chancellor of Alliance University, Dr Ayyappa Dore (54), was hacked to death in RT Nagar police station limits on Tuesday night. Special teams have been formed by the police, who are investigating the case in multiple angles. No arrests have been made.
Ayyappa, a resident of RT Nagar, was found in a pool of blood at HMT Ground, within 100 metres from his residence, around 5.45 am.on Wednesday. The murder came to light when morning walkers alerted the police. When the patrolling police informed Ayyappa’s wife, she rushed to the spot and identified the body.
“Going by the way the murder is committed, there is a high possibility that supari (contract)killers were involved in the case. We are investigating several angles including real estate, finance, political and personal rivalry, besides the internal fights in the university where he worked as Vice-Chancellor,” an investigating officer said.
On Tuesday night, Ayyappa had dinner and had left home for a walk around 10.30 pm. Police said that going for a walk for about 30 minutes was his routine.
“His wife Pavana and family members therefore did not worry about him. They had no idea that he had not returned as they were fast asleep and Ayyappa carried the key of the main door as usual. His wife, who did not find him when she woke up around 5.30 am, came out in search of him. At the same time, the patrolling police had rushed to HMT Ground following information about a murder. Pavana, who came to the spot, identified the deceased as her husband,” the police said.
Ayyappa is survived by his wife, who had also served as the Vice-Chancellor of the same university, and his three children.
City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, who visited the spot, said special teams were formed to nab the killers. The police are gathering the footage recorded by several CCTV cameras in the locality and also analysing the outgoing and incoming calls of Ayyapps’s mobile phone.
“After retiring as Vice-Chancellor of the private university, Ayyappa was into many things including politics. He was doing real estate and finance business, too. In 2018, he had established Jana Samanyara Party and had contested from Muddebihal Assembly constituency but had lost. He had actively taken part in several movements including Mahadayi and separate religion status for Lingayats. As an RTI activist, he had filed several complaints with the Anti-Corruption Bureau against several politicians including the Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa,” an official said.