Senior BJP member hacked to death in Karnataka's Dharwad district

Yogesh Gowda, a senior BJP panchayat member, was hacked to death in Dharwad district in Karnataka on Wednesday morning, according to a report in India Today. The reason of the attack remains unclear and the perpetrators unidentified, but the police believe it could be due to rivalry within the local party. The cops have acquired the CCTV footage and are carrying out further investigation. [caption id=“attachment_2737198” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Karnataka police. Representational image. Getty images[/caption] According to initial reports in The Hindu, Gowda, was reading a newspaper sitting in front of his gym (Uday Gym and Fitness Club), when a group of five people attacked him with lethal weapons. India Today reported the use of a machete. Gowda reportedly tried to escape by seeking sanctuary in the gym, but he was chased and attacked again.

According to the police, the victim sustained fatal injuries on the head and neck and died on the spot.The gym workers were the first to see Gowda lying in a pool of blood and they alerted the police.

This incident comes five days after BJP leader, Ramsai Majji was hacked to death by Maoists in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. Majji, a member of the Zila Panchayat, and a retired school principal was lured out of his house by Maoists. Later his body was found nearby, as reported by Hindustan Times. Another incident of brutality was recorded against a 27-year-old RSS worker who was again, hacked to death, in front of his aged parents in Kannur district in Kerala, as reported by the  Indian Express. While BJP had openly accused CPM of the murder, the Left party had deemed the incident a local issue, having no political motive.