Congress activist dies after being pushed into Varada river in Hanagal taluk, one arrested

HAVERI: A Congress worker was killed after he was forced to consume alcohol and pushed into the Varada river from a bridge near Bommanahalli village in Hanagal taluk on his birthday on July 26. The deceased Manoj Prakash Udagani’s (28) body was found near Mellagatti in Savanur taluk on Thursday.

The main accused Shivaraj Jalavadagi was arrested on Thursday. He allegedly pushed Manoj into the river along with two others after getting him drunk. According to the police, Manoj was earlier in a relationship with a girl who later married Shivaraj a few years ago.

The body was fished out from the river on Thursday.

However, Shivaraj was angry that Manoj was still texting his wife and hence plotted to eliminate him. On Manoj’s birthday, Shivaraj and two others kidnapped him, forcibly got him to consume alcohol and then pushed him off a bridge into the Varada river.

According to family members, Shivaraj had earlier threatened to kill Manoj for texting his wife. “My brother was district secretary in the Congress and was active in politics. He was kidnapped and killed”, said Shambhu.

In another incident, a man was brutally attacked by a group of youths after he tried to intervene in a fight, at Ganganagar in Hanagal town. The injured Pradeep Chikkannanavar is currently undergoing treatment at the Hanagal taluk hospital.

As per the complaint, Pradeed was attacked with beer bottles, leaving him injured in the head, chest and other parts of the body. He has named, Vinay, Chetan, Abhi, Mukhtar, Ashif and Amit among others as the attackers. The Hanagal police have taken up further investigation. Meanwhile, locals have demanded that the accused should be immediately arrested.