Youth stabbed to death in Mahimapura for axing tree

BENGALURU: A 23-year-old youth was hacked to death by a gang, which included his cousin, over a dispute of selling a tree worth Rs 1,000 on a piece of farming land. The incident took place in Mahimapura, Nelamangala, a week ago, and the body was found on Saturday near Sakaleshapur in Hassan district. 

The deceased has been identified as Naveen, a resident of Mahimapura, who was a financier. Police have arrested his cousin Venugopal, along with four others identified as Bande Naveen, Thimmaraju, Suresh and Chandrashekar, who are all into land dealing in the village.

The police said that last Sunday, Naveen had a fight with Venugopal, and attacked him with a wooden stick. The next day, Venugopal kidnapped Naveen in a car along with his associates. They took him near Hassan and stabbed him to death. The body was then dumped on a patch of land, and on Saturday, the police received an alert.

The body was brought to Nelamangala for an autopsy. During interrogation, Venugopal said for a few months, Naveen and his parents were having a dispute over chopping a tree, which they wanted to sell for Rs 1,000. As Naveen objected, they had a quarrel, which led to the murder. Venugopal has been handed over to judicial custody, and the cab he had hired to kidnap Naveen has been seized.