Hassan: Hassan City Municipal Council (CMC) member, was brutally hacked to death by miscreants with lethal weapons at Laxmipura Extension yesterday evening and the incident has caused tension in the city.

The deceased CMC member from Ward-16, who was also a JD(S) member, is Prashanth Nagaraj (42).

Yesterday at about 7.30 pm, Prashanth was proceeding on his Honda Activa scooter, when miscreants, who came in an autorickshaw waylaid his scooter. Sensing trouble, Prashanth left his scooter on the spot and began to run only to be chased by the miscreants, who hacked him to death and fled from the spot.

As the news of the murder spread, hundreds of people began to crowd the murder spot following which Pension Mohalla Police shifted the body to the District Hospital. 

MP Prajwal Revanna, former Minister H.D. Revanna and hundreds of JD(S) workers staged a protest in front of Hassan District Hospital and demanded suspension of Pension Mohalla Inspector Renukaprasad, City Inspector Arogyappa and Dy.SP Uday Bhaskar. The protestors said that they will not allow the post-mortem to be conducted till the Police officers were suspended. Traders too downed the shutters in protest against the murder. Finally, SP Srinivasagowda and Additional SP Nandini convinced them to allow for the post-mortem to be conducted and told them that the IGP would be issuing an order in this regard, following which the protestors allowed for the post-mortem to be conducted.

Following a complaint from deceased Prashanth’s wife Sowmya which stated that one Poornachandra, Arun and others had come in an auto (KA-46-6388) had murdered her husband, Police arrested Poornachandra and Arun and also seized the auto along with lethal weapons.