Bangalore: Realtor Shot Dead in Public View

Bangalore, April 18, DHNS : A realtor was gunned down by an assailant suspected to be his business rival, at a densely populated locality off Moodalpalya Main Road on Sunday evening. 

B Nanjundappa, aged about 40 years, had arrived at 3rd Cross, Sanjeevini Nagar, off Tent Road, Moodalpalya, to meet Shobha, whose antecedents are not known, when the assassin shot him down in full public gaze around 4.30 pm, police said.

 It is suspected that Nanjundappa had received a life threat by an anonymous caller barely half an hour before the incident.

Nanjundappa had driven in a maroon SUV. As soon as he parked the vehicle by the side of a three-storey building and got down, the lone assailant ambushed him, pumping his body with bullet in no time.

The assassin vanished immediately on a two-wheeler. Completely caught off guard, Nanjundappa inched a few feet down the street before collapsing under an address post. A frightened Shobha tried to pick him. In the process, her white veil was stained with blood.

Shobha was so scared that she discarded her sandals and, with the help of a few residents, rushed Nanjundappa to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Commissioner of Police Shankar Bidari, who visited the spot, told reporters that Ikram alias Akram, Nanjundappa’s business partner, might be the assailant.  The shootout comes close on the heels of a similar incident on Friday in which Akram had allegedly shot at Dhanraj T, an informant who used to tip the police off about him. Dhanraj is now battling for life at a private hospital.

It is suspected that the revolver used to shoot at Dhanraj was also used in this incident. Police, however, await the forensic report to confirm this.

Later in the evening, unidentified people set Akram’s house at Kodipalya on fire. Akram is wanted by the police for his alleged involvement in more than 40 crimes, including attempt to murder and bike lifting.

The incident sent shock waves across the neighbourhood even as police cordoned the spot off and banned the entry of vehicles into the busy Tent Road which also serves as a marketplace. Still, people shopped in the market while police, the mediapersons, and curious onlookers were busy enquiring about the incident.

Nanjundappa, a resident of Balakrishna Circle, Kodipalya in Kengeri, was earlier also the general secretary, Kengeri unit of the BJP. But he had recently resigned from the BJP and joined the Congress.

Police say the shootout has no political overtones. Nanjundappa was married to Hombamma and they have two children - Ajay Kumar and Kala Rani. Earlier in the afternoon, Nanjundappa met his friend Muniraju at Kengeri New Town. His brother Devaraj runs a grocery store at Kodipalya.

According to his relative Karegowda, Nanjundappa had not shown any anxiety and appeared fine. While police said that he was a native of Shimoga district, the victim’s relative Nanda denied this and said that his family had been living at Kodipalya for generations.

The body has been kept at the Victoria Hospital where a post-mortem will be conducted on Monday. Chandra Layout police have booked a case of murder.