Kumaraswamy was briefed about the murder by the intelligence department as soon as he landed in the Vijayapura district. (File photo) Kumaraswamy was briefed about the murder by the intelligence department as soon as he landed in the Vijayapura district. (File photo)

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was caught on tape purportedly instructing someone, allegedly a senior police officer, to avenge the killing of Janata Dal Secular party (JDS) leader Prakash.

In a video released by news agency ANI, Kumaraswamy was heard saying: “He(murdered JDS leader Prakash) was a good man, I don’t know why did they murder him. Kill them (assailants) mercilessly in a shootout, no problem.”

Karnataka CM: It(kill assailants mercilessly) was not my order, I was emotional at that moment. they (killers )are the reason for two murders and they were in jail. they came out on bail 2 days ago and killed another person(JDS leader Prakash), this is how they are misusing bail pic.twitter.com/fNgFuNbllf — ANI (@ANI) December 25, 2018

Kumaraswamy was reportedly briefed about the murder by the intelligence department as soon as he landed in the Vijayapura district. JDS worker H Prakash was murdered two days ago in South Karnataka’s Mandya by four men. The alleged killers were earlier arrested in connection with two murder cases and are currently out on bail.

Later, the chief minister retracted his earlier statement and described it as an “emotional outburst”. He told ANI, “It (kill assailants mercilessly) was not my order, I was emotional at that moment. The killers are the reason for two murders and they were in jail. They came out on bail 2 days ago and killed another person (JDS leader Prakash), this is how they are misusing bail.”

Prakash, a former Zilla Panchayat (ZP) member of Mandya district, was attacked on Monday evening.

“Prakash, 50, was attacked by four men with a machete on Monday evening due to suspected personal rivalries. He succumbed to his injuries,” said Maddur police station sub-inspector Kumara.

The hunt to nab the accused is still on, according to police.

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