Man attempts to kill Karnataka Congress MLA over not getting enough money to build house
BENGALURU: A timely intervention by his gunman saved the life of Hebbal MLA Byrathi Suresh when a known 43-year-old man tried to kill the legislator with a kitchen knife at about 12:15 pm on Friday at Byrathi village near Kothanur.
Bheemashankar Guled, DCP (North-East) said that around 12.15 pm, while MLA Suresh was on his way to KR Puram along with his staff in his SUV, the accused, Shivkumar alias Shivu, came on a bike and rammed into Suresh’s vehicle from the left side.
The shocked driver stopped the SUV to see who had done it. By then, Shivu went ahead, took a U-turn and collided head-on with Suresh’s vehicle.
Suresh, who had by then recognised Shivu, got out of the car and questioned him. Suresh’s gunman Satyanarayana, however, grew suspicious and stopped Suresh from going closer to Shivu. That saved
Suresh’s life, as in no time Shivu had whisked out a kitchen knife and allegedly tried to stab Suresh to death.
“Satyanarayana snatched the knife as several onlookers rushed to Suresh’s rescue. They tied Shivu’s hand and nabbed him before alerting the police. The MLA escaped unhurt,” Guled said. Based on the complaint given by Suresh’s driver Manjunath the Kothanur police have registered a case of attempt to murder.
Police interrogation of Shivu revealed that he had attacked the MLA out of frustration over not getting enough money from him to build his own house which was under construction since the past three years. The MLA was not receiving his calls and had also blocked his number, Shivu reportedly told the police during his interrogation.
Shivu, a resident of Byrathi, is a carpenter and lives with his mother Kamalamma, who works as a maid in Suresh’s house since the past three decades. “He was mentally disturbed and was taken to NIMHANS for treatment. He was under depression since a few months,” Kamalamma told reporters. The accused is married and has two children with his wife, PAdmavathi working in a printing shop. She was not aware of the incident until she returned home on Friday.
A senior police officer further added that Suresh had high regards for Shivu’s family and had even paid Rs 2 lakh to help them construct their house. The legislator claimed that he had no knowledge on why he was attacked by Shivu and is puzzled as he had no enmity with him over any issue.
According to police’s initial investigation, Shivu hatched the plot well in advance and had tracked the MLA’s movements for a few days. He had kept a kitchen knife with him and allegedly decided to kill
Suresh. However, Shivu has remained tight-lipped about the exact reason which led him to hatch the plot.
Meanwhile, Suresh spoke to the media, saying, “I had a meeting with residents of Hosakote and KR Puram for civic issues since early morning and had left the house around noon. I have no idea who or what motivated Shivu to attack me. I know him since 30 years as he grew in the same locality. His father Srikantacharya was good friend of mine.”
However, during interrogation, Shivu is said to have told the police “I wanted more money since my house is being built since three years and I repeatedly visited Suresh house. But I was not allowed to meet Suresh. I even tried contacting him over phone. But Suresh did not answer my calls and even blocked my number. Upset over this I decided to attack Suresh.”