A lawyer from Hospet of the newly-formed Vijayanagara district was hacked to death inside the civil court premises in broad daylight on Saturday, according to a report in the Times Of India. The lawyer, 48-year-old Tarihalli Venkatesh, was attacked inside the court premises by Tarahalli Manoj, aged 22, who has been identified by the police as the lawyer’s relative.

Venkatesh was sitting in the court premises with his colleagues at around 11:30 am on Saturday when the killer barged into the court premises riding a bike. As the onlookers watched in horror, Manoj hacked and slashed Venkatesh with a sharp weapon in the head and neck, killing him instantly. 

Srinivas Meti of Hospet Police Station told TOI that the police were able to get hold of the accused while he was trying to run away from the spot.

The police also said that the initial investigation has revealed Manoj is a relative of the victim Venkatesh and it is believed that the main reason for the murder was a property dispute. Further, he told TOI that other angles are also being investigated to ascertain the exact reason. The police also said that both the killer and victim lived in the same neighbourhood. The case has been registered at Hospet police station. 

Deccan Herald identified Venkatesh as a member of the Congress. He is survived by his wife and four children.

This incident comes after on February 17, a lawyer couple was hacked to death in broad daylight in Telangana as they were returning from work. Advocates Gattu Vaman Rao and his wife Nagamani, who were travelling in a four-wheeler, were waylaid and killed on the road by unknown assailants in  Telangana's Peddapalli district.

The lawyer couple had recently filed a petition in the High Court over the alleged custodial death of Seelam Rangaiah, a Dalit man who was arrested under charges of poaching wild animals.