Three men murdered at dhabha in revenge attack on Kalaburagi outskirts

KALABURAGI: Three people were brutally murdered after throwing chilli powder into their eyes at Driver Dhabha on the outskirts of the city past midnight on Wednesday, allegedly over old rivalry. The deceased were identified as the dabha owner Siddharudh, his nephew Jagadish and employee Ramachandra.

Siddharudh (top) and Jagadish (below) were arrested in the murder of Somu Talikoti (right).

According to the police, Siddharudh a.k.a Siddaraju and his brothers had murdered history-sheeter Somu Talikoti on November 12 last year over a financial dispute and had been recently released on bail. As a revenge for Somu’s killing, his brothers and their associates carried out the murder of Siddharudh, Jagadish and also Ramachandra. The attackers mistook Ramachandra for one of Siddharudh’s brothers, police said.

Police said seven people barged into the dhabha and carried out the triple murders. They also took away the CCTV digital video recorder and later surrendered at the Suburban police station. Kalaburagi police commissioner Dr Sharanappa visited the spot and police are now trying to identify the culprits from CCTV footage at a petrol pump next to the dhabha and looking into whether others are also involved in the triple murder.

Kalaburagi police commissioner Dr Sharanappa said, “This was the result of old rivalry between two families and we have formed special teams to investigate the murders. Boths families hail from an agricultural background and had been warned several times earlier. We have taken seven people into custody and taken up further investigation”.