Feared in Bengaluru's underworld and considered one of the richest goons in the city, Rowdy Lakshmana was hacked to death in broad daylight by a gang of five men on Friday near the ISKCON temple in the city.
The murder has raised questions about the motive and sources suggest his rivals exacted revenge for a murder that he had committed 14 years ago. On Friday evening, the Central Crime Branch, which took over the probe into Lakshmana's murder, detained two men, Srikanta and Cat Raja, who are both rowdy-sheeters with cases of murder, attempted murder and extortion registered against them in the Soladevanahalli Police Station.
CCB sources say that Cat Raja allegedly confessed to being a part of the 5-member team that killed Rowdy Lakshmana. Cat Raja allegedly told the police that the murder weapons and bloodied clothes were hidden in Kareem Saab Layout. On Saturday morning, DCP North N Shashikumar and Mahalakshmi Layout Inspector Prashanth, took Cat Raja to Kareem Saab Layout when he tried to attack the police and escape. The police fired two shots at Cat Raja, who was injured and is now undergoing treatment.
Police say that two other gangsters – Kalla Jagga and Hemanth alias Hemi – have absconded and that they are being traced. "Cat Raja, Srikanta, Hemi and Kalla Jagga are all close associates for Machchu Manja, who was killed 14 years ago by Lakshmana and his men," police said.
In 2005, Machchu Manja, a local gangster, was returning home after distributing his wedding invitation. He was chased down by twin brothers Rama and Lakshmana along with 40 others in Yelahanka. Machchu Manja was hacked to death with sickles and machetes.
"According to Cat Raja, the murder was committed due to both personal rivalry and also because of certain land grabbing cases which Lakshmana was involved in. We have reason to believe that the assailants had planned the event well in advance and that a woman friend of Hemi was roped in as well," police said.
Police found a hotel room key in Lakshmana's car and suspect that Lakshmana was on his way to meet Hemi’s friend. "We think she may have tipped the others off. This was well planned. The day before Laksmana was killed, Cat Raja and Kalla Jagga had performed a puja at Machchu Manja's grave in Solur. Although we do not have adequate evidence about whether it was a revenge killing, we have reason to believe it was due to the suspects in the case and the events which led up to Lakshmana's murder," the police added.