Gangavathi BJP Yuva Morcha brutally hacked to death, four surrender, police on lookout for others

KOPPAL: The BJP Yuva Morcha president of Gangavathi, Venkatesh Kurubara (31) was brutally murdered by an armed gang near Leelavathi Hospital on Raichur Road in Gangavati on Tuesday night. Four of the attackers surrendered before the police while three others, including the kingpin, are absconding.

Venkatesh Kurubara was attacked by a group of men armed with machetes and iron rods while riding his bike with friends near Leelavati Hospital around 2 am after dinner. Venkatesh was headed from Devi Camp to Gangavathi. While the assailants were fleeing, a tyre of their car burst near Kottureshwara Camp, forcing them to abandon the vehicle.

The assailants rammed their car into Venkatesh’s bike and then hacked him to death. Four suspects, including Bhima alias Bharath from Bengaluru, Salim from Gangavathi, Vijay Marathahalli and Dhanraj from Belagavi, have been taken into custody, while Karthik, Lakshman and the main accused, Ravi, is still on the run.

The police believe the murder was a revenge killing, stemming from a past incident where Venkatesh had helped the police arrest some accused in a case. In 2023, Venkatesh’s friend Maruti was fatally attacked by Ravi’s group, and Venkatesh had helped Maruti, who died two years later. This incident might have led to Ravi’s grudge against Venkatesh, the police feel.

ಕೊಪ್ಪಳ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಗಂಗಾವತಿ ಮಂಡಲ ಯುವಮೋರ್ಚಾ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾಗಿದ್ದ ವೆಂಕಟೇಶ್ ಅವರು ದುರಂತ ಸಾವಿಗೀಡಾದ ಸುದ್ದಿ ನೋವುತರಿಸಿದೆ. ಮೃತರ ಸಾವಿಗೆ ಸಂತಾಪ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸುವೆ. ವೆಂಕಟೇಶ್ ಆತ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ ಚಿರಶಾಂತಿ ಲಭಿಸಲಿ, ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬಕ್ಕೆ ದುಃಖ ತಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಭಗವಂತ ದಯಪಾಲಿಸಲಿ.
ಓಂ ಶಾಂತಿಃ pic.twitter.com/KglfqQyyaW

— Vijayendra Yediyurappa (@BYVijayendra) October 8, 2025

Koppal Superintendent of Police Ram L Arasiddi, who visited the spot, said four teams have been formed to investigate the case and assured that the remaining suspects will be arrested soon. “We have taken four people into custody and a case has been registered against Ravi and his associates based on a complaint from Venkatesh’s father. There was no complaint registered regarding threat calls to Venkatesh. At least 12 cases were registered earlier against Ravi”, he said.

On receiving information about the murder, BJP MP Rajeshakar Hitnal and hundreds of his supporters rushed to the police station. The BJP has condemned the murder, with state president BY Vijayendra expressing condolences to Venkatesh’s family.

“Venkatesh was a social worker and was murdered brutally by six people. We have met the SP and demanded the arrested of the accused and strict punishment for them. I am not aware of any threat calls to Venkatesh”, said Rajashekar Hitnal.