Cong man killed, Hassan flares up

Two villages adjoining Hassan were attacked and around 50 houses set ablaze after a double murder yesterday in which a Municipal Council member was killed. Police have clamped Section 144 and taken over 20 people into custody.

The murder took place last night when Council member Girijashankar alias Dairy Manju, 46, of the Congress, was returning home from Dyavalapura on a motorcycle along with a friend, Jayaprakash. A group of eight to ten people attacked the two with sickles and choppers and killed them on the spot. As news of the double murder spread, Girijashankar’s supporters, mainly from the outskirts of the town like Bagadera Koppalu and other areas, attacked Dyavalapura and Soppinahalli villages. Policemen were also attacked when they tried to prevent the mobs.

According to police, apart from six huts, around 45 houses in Dyavalapura had been set on fire whereas three had been set ablaze in Soppinahalli. Most of the houses were gutted before the fire brigade could reach the place.

Girijashankar was a trustee of many organisations in the outskirts of the town and used to hold panchayts in these villages. He had recently been involved in mediating in a dispute where after an altercation at the Lakshmi Ranganatha High School, a youth from Haranahalli had been fined Rs 10,000. The youth did not pay the fine. Girijashankar was returning after attending another panchayat on the issue yesterday when he was attacked, police said.