Karnataka man acquitted in 2015 murder case hacked to death in public

A man acquitted in a 2015 murder case was hacked to death in public in Karnataka’s Hubballi on Friday afternoon, with the police suspecting the killing was linked to an old enmity. According to the police, the victim, Dadapeer Udayakar, was riding a two-wheeler near Siddeshwara Park in Banashankari Layout in Vidyanagar around 1 pm when two unidentified men allegedly intercepted him and attacked him with sharp weapons.

The assailants fled the spot after the attack. According to preliminary information, Udayakar was an accused in the 2015 murder of a person named Maruti. He was acquitted in the case in 2017, the police said. However, the police are yet to ascertain whether the killing was connected to the earlier case or any existing enmity.

Senior police officials, including Hubbali City Police Commissioner N Shashikumar, visited the spot and reviewed the circumstances. Police teams have been formed to trace the attackers and CCTV footage from the area is being examined to establish their movements.

“We are trying to zero down on the accused and will register a case,” Shashikumar told the media on Friday. A senior police official said the accused are yet to be traced and further investigation is underway.