Man seeking to meet JD(S) candidate held

Residents of Shantinagar caught a 29-year-old autorickshaw driver, armed with a machete, moving suspiciously near the house of JD(S) candidate N.R. Sridhara Reddy. The accused, Mazhar Khan, a resident of Neelasandra, was caught after he started asking people the way to Mr. Reddy’s house.

When he refused to tell residents why he wanted to meet the political candidate, locals searched his scooter and found the machete. Mazhar denied allegations that he had come to attack Mr. Reddy and told the police that he was trying to seek financial help from Mr. Reddy as his father had been hospitalised after suffering from cardiac problems.

“He told us that he had kept the machete as protection from a rival who lived in the same area,” said the police.