Three days after the murder of a rowdy sheeter named Hayat alias Rowdy Bacha, the Shivamogga police has arrested a gang of 10 men in connection with the case.
The police have arrested Arbaz, Sharro alias Ashoo, Mohammed, Suhail, Jaidhan, Assadullah Khan, Irfan and three others, all of whom are allegedly members of a rival gang.
Shivamogga SP, Abhinav Khare, said that Rowdy Bacha had been murdered due to a long-standing rivalry between him and another rowdy-sheeter called Keeli Imran alias Rowdy Keeli.
Rowdy Keeli and Rowdy Bacha, the SP said, were both gang lords, and their men have had their fingers deep in the marijuana trade in the region and control most of the drug’s influx into Shivamogga city.
Their rivalry dated back to 1998, when Rowdy Bacha’s father, Rowdy Nasru was hacked to death by Rowdy Keeli’s men.
In October 2016, SP Khare said, Rowdy Bacha had brutally assaulted one of Rowdy Keeli’s gangsters, Shahid, and had set Shahid’s bike on fire.
A few days after that incident, he had allegedly held one of Rowdy Keeli’s ganja dealers at gunpoint and had demanded Rs 1 crore from him.
Bacha was then arrested by the Shivamogga police and was remanded to judicial custody, but was later let out on bail.
“He was out on bail recently and Rowdy Keeli’s gangsters planned to bump off Bacha as they perceived him to be a huge threat to their ganja trade,” the SP added.
On February 8, Rowdy Bacha walked out of his home in Shivamogga’s Anna Nagar and machete-wielding gangsters from Rowdy Keeli’s faction hacked him to death near Ganesha Darshini.
Ironically, Rowdy Bacha’s father, Rowdy Nasru, was also done to death by Keeli’s men in front of the same hotel.
The Doddapete Police have booked the 10 accused for murder and conspiracy, the SP said.