In a possible revenge crime, a former Bengaluru corporator was hacked to death on Saturday evening inside a wedding hall in Hegganahalli, in the northern part of the city.

A gang of close to 15 men armed with machetes and other sharp weapons had waylaid Govinde Gowda when he was on the main road. Govinde tried to escape and find refuge in Mathrushree Kalyana Mantapa but in vain. The former corporator was stabbed and left with lethal injuries. He was declared brought dead at a nearby hospital.

Two separate groups, both having six to seven people arrived at the hall around 4.30 pm, the owner of the marriage hall told TNIE.

Incidentally, the deceased and six others including his wife were in jail since November 2016 for allegedly killing Chikkathimme Gowda, a former aide of Govinde, and came out on bail only recently.

According to the police, the bad blood between the two started after Chikkathimme Gowda joined the BJP, and a candidate backed by him became the Hegganahalli ward councillor, winning over Govinde’s wife.

Following this, the couple had reportedly hired contract killers to eliminate Chikkathimme.

Police suspect the role of Chikkathimme’s brothers in the murder. TNIE quoted sources within the police as saying they had called the deceased and conned them into coming to the spot of the murder by claiming it was a compromise discussion.

A case of murder has been registered in the Rajagopalanagar Police Station. Two teams have been formed to probe the murder.

DH quoted DCP (North) Chethan Rathor Singh as saying, "We have definite clues about the assailants and are tracking them. We are also verifying the exact number of assailants."

The recently released National Crime Records Bureau data revealed Bengaluru recorded one of the highest numbers of crimes among India’s metropolitan cities for 2016, coming second only to capital Delhi.

Bengaluru recorded an increase in the number of murders, with 229 cases in 2016 as against 188 in 2015, the data showed.