Bengaluru

01 February 2018 21:56 IST

Santosh, accused had run-ins over the past four months

A day after a 28-year-old BJP worker was stabbed to death at Chinnappa Garden, J.C. Nagar, here on Wednesday night, two more men have been arrested and the case has been handed over to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) following demands for an independent probe. The victim, Santosh, was returning from a birthday party when four men allegedly attacked him and stabbed him with a screwdriver. He was taken to a hospital where he died.

Investigations so far have revealed that Santosh and the prime accused Wasim — son of a Congress functionary — had several run-ins over the last four months. Apart from Wasim who is the son of block Congress president, Khadar, the other three accused arrested for murder are Philips, a gym trainer by profession, Umar, a tile worker; and Irfan, a tailor. Santosh was an autorickshaw driver, and his father runs a bakery in the neighbourhood.

According to sources, the duo clashed over personal issues first, four months ago, which later acquired a communal and political edge. The victim’s family members alleged that the trigger for the chain of events leading to the fight was an altercation the two men had over flex banners Santosh had put up in their neighbourhood for Vivekananda Jayanti two weeks ago.

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Santosh’s brother-in-law, Ramesh, alleged that the situation came to a head four months ago, when Wasim and his associates assaulted Santosh after he objected to them selling ganja near his house.

“Santosh had lodged a complaint with the police and I was also with him. But the J.C. Nagar police brokered peace between the two, threatening us with a counter-case,” he claimed.

“Santosh and his younger brother Deshamuttu are BJP functionaries and had organised a Vivekananada Jayanti in the second week of January. Wasim and his associates had ripped off many flex banners and saffron flags, leading to the altercation,” said Ramesh. Police officials and local BJP leaders confirmed the incident.

The family on Thursday alleged that Santosh was killed as the police were partisan and supported Wasim four months ago and took no action, despite the fact that he was allegedly peddling drugs.