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A 26-year-old man was brutally murdered in K. Honnalagere village of Maddur taluk following a drunken altercation that erupted over a trivial remark inside a local bar, officials said on Saturday. Three individuals have been arrested in connection with the crime.
The victim, identified as Sunil, who had been married for just six months, became the unintended casualty of an attack meant for someone else, according to Mandya Superintendent of Police VJ Shobharani. The incident unfolded on May 19 inside Deepa Bar, where the prime accused, Nishanth, a resident of Ajjahalli village, was drinking while waiting to intimidate a man named Ashok, from whom he had borrowed Rs 5 lakh. Police said that Nishanth had kept a machete in his car specifically to threaten Ashok, who had been repeatedly demanding repayment. While inside the bar, an inebriated Nishanth repeatedly addressed the cashier as "Boss." Sunil and his friends, who were seated at a nearby table, took offence to the phrasing, leading Sunil to allegedly question, "What kind of boss is he?" The comment triggered a heated argument between the two groups. Although friends initially intervened to break up the fight inside the establishment, the confrontation spilt onto the road outside. During the subsequent clash, Nishanth and his associates--identified as Karthik from Ajjahalli and Ravi of Goolurudoddi--allegedly attacked Sunil, killing him on the spot before fleeing. "The murder was not premeditated. The sketch was for someone else, but someone else became the victim," officials noted, referencing Nishanth's original plan to target his creditor. According to the police, the incident took place late Sunday night when the victim was returning on a motorcycle with three of his friends after consuming liquor. A group of assailants, who arrived in a car, intercepted the motorcycle and launched a sudden attack on Sunil using lethal weapons, inflicting critical injuries. Sunil was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries while on the way. His two companions on the bike, identified as Satish and Siddaraju, managed to escape unhurt. Following a complaint registered at the Maddur Police Station, SP VJ Shobharani formed a special team to track down the assailants. Maddur police successfully apprehended Nishanth, Karthik, and Ravi, who have since been remanded to judicial custody. The case has sparked concern in K. Honnalagere over bar-related violence. Further investigation into the incident is underway. (ANI)
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