Bengaluru: Six men, including a rowdy, were arrested by Banashankari police in connection with the murder of a mini goods vehicle driver over mistaken identity.
The deceased is Nikhil R, a native of Mysuru. The arrested are Shivaprasad, a rowdy-sheeter of Hanumanthanagar police station, Bharath, Jayanth Gowda, Prajwal Gowda, Abhishek, and Ganesh. Another miscreant is at large. The accused are residents of Konanakunte, Srinagar, and Kathriguppe in South Bengaluru, and are aged between 20 to 25.
According to police, the gang wanted to kill a person identified as Kantha. They mistook Nikhil for Kantha and hacked him to death with lethal weapons on the night of March 31.
Police said Shivaprasad was riding a bike at AK Colony in Banashankari II Stage on the evening of March 31. He and Kantha, a resident of the area, got into a brawl as the former's bike almost grazed against the latter. In a fit of rage, Kantha assaulted Shivaprasad and chased him away from the area. Shivaprasad planned to take revenge on Kantha and took his friends to AK Colony to kill Kantha. They spotted Nikhil, a driver, resting in the mini goods vehicle owned by a local. They pulled him out of the vehicle and hacked him. Only after the attack, the gang realised that they had targetted the wrong person. They fled the spot and severely injured Nikhil died on the spot.