Hours after the brutal killing of a Janata Dal (Secular) leader in Mandya district, Karnataka, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was heard speaking on the phone, telling the person on the line that the killers should be shot dead without mercy.
In a video that has emerged from the Chief Minister’s visit to the scene of the crime, HD Kumaraswamy is heard saying on the phone, “He was a good man. I don’t know who killed him and who killed him in this manner. Shoot them(the killers) mercilessly, there would be no issues.”
It is presumed that the Chief Minister was speaking to senior police officials in the state.
#BIGNEWS: #Karnataka CM @hd_kumaraswamy orders shootout of killers of #JDS leader Honnagere Prakash. CM said, "kill them mercilessly, there's no problem." pic.twitter.com/KOdvJrWR4s
— NEWS9 (@NEWS9TWEETS) December 24, 2018
The Chief Minister's office, however, told TNM that while the Chief Minister's emotional phone call is not a direct order to the police department, he strongly condemns the killing.
The CMO added Prakash, was a loyal party worker. Police were directed to take necessary steps to arrest the accused and take preventive measures to avoid any form of violence or untoward incidents..
On Monday evening, miscreants chased the car of a JD(S) leader from Mandya, stopped him, opened the car doors and hacked him to death in broad daylight.
The incident occurred on Mysuru Road in Mandya. At around 4.30 pm, Honnalagere Prakash (50) was travelling in his car on Mysuru Road when four bike-borne assailants chased his car and stopped him at the highway on Maddur.
The machete-wielding men opened the car’s back door, where Prakash was seated, and brutally hacked his neck and arms. They left Prakash lying between the back seats, unconscious and covered in blood. Shocked onlookers immediately called an ambulance and Prakash was rushed to the Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS).
Officials at MIMS said that Prakash was alive when he was brought in but succumbed to his injuries within minutes.
A case of murder has been registered at the Maddur Police Station. Police say that Prakash’s murder may have been motivated by revenge.
“Two years ago, a JD(S) leader Kumar, also known as Cable Kumar, was brutally murdered by bike-borne assailants in Mandya. At the time, there was speculation that Prakash may have been involved in the crime. He may have been targeted by a rival faction but the investigation will reveal the truth,” the Maddur Police said.
The assailants had followed Kumar on a motorcycle and attacked him with sharp weapons and an iron rod. The Halagur police personnel said they were yet to get any clues about the assailants and that a team has been formed to nab them.