A former gram panchayat president was shot dead in Karnataka’s Vijayapura district by four men while getting a haircut in a salon on Wednesday, the police said, adding that the assailants threw chilli powder in his and his associates’ eyes before firing four shots at point-blank range and fled.
The deceased, Bheemanagouda Biradar, 40, had served as the gram panchayat president of his native Devar Nimbargi village in Chadchan taluk.
“Biradar was also a rowdy-sheeter with multiple murder cases pending against him,” said Laxman B Nimbargi, Superintendent of Police, Vijaypura.
The police said that following the murder, which took place at around 8.50 am, four men—identified as Wasim Maniyar, Razivulla Makanadar, Moulasab Borgi, and Firoz Sheikh—surrendered and confessed to the crime. All belonging to the same village, they were subsequently arrested on murder charges.
According to the police, one of the accused had paid Rs 1 lakh to Biradar, who had assured him of a house under the government’s Ashraya housing scheme. However, the accused did not get a house or the money he had paid.
Biradar’s wife Rajeshri Biradar said that her husband had been murdered to avenge his role in the imprisonment in 2023 of Zakir Maniyar, a political rival and the brother of Wasim Maniyar. Zakir was jailed for allegedly making casteist remarks against a village panchayat development officer, with Biradar reportedly being instrumental in his arrest and prosecution.
Adding another dimension to the murder, Biradar had maintained control over the Devar Nimbargi gram panchayat for the past 10 years. With elections approaching, he was said to be manoeuvring to install a loyal follower as the next president.
The Chadchan police are investigating the murder further.