BJP worker in Karnataka stabbed to death by unknown assailants; third party worker to be killed in under a month

Mohammed Anwar, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) general secretary of Karnataka's Chikmagalur district, was hacked to death around 9.30 pm on Friday night. Anwar was on his way home when he was attacked by bike-borne assailants near Gauri Canal, reported NDTV.The 44-year-old was stabbed three times and died on the spot, the police said. A case has been registered and the police has launched a manhunt for the unknown attackers, the NDTV report added.[caption id="attachment_4577601" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. AFP[/caption]"He was stabbed to death by unknown people who came on a bike. The motive may be personal enmity or any other issue. Things will become clear as investigation proceeds," Chikkamagaluru Superintendent of Police K Annamalai told The Hindu. The incident occurred under the jurisdiction of the Basavanahalli police station.This is the third such incident of attacks on BJP workers in less than a month.The body of an 18-year-old BJP worker, Trilochon Mahato, was found hanging from a tree near his home in Purulia district of West Bengal on 30 May. An unsigned handwritten note in Bengali found near the body said he was "punished for working for the BJP" during the recent rural polls in the state, a senior district police officer said.Only a few days later, 32-year-old Dulal Kumar, another BJP worker, was found hanging from an electric pole in the same district. The BJP had alleged that Kumar was murdered by TMC supporters for participating in a "thana gherao" protest organised by the party. However, the police had said that his post-mortem report revealed he committed suicide.Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar termed the incidents as "political murders", and said they have no place in a democracy. "It's a political murder. So far, 19 BJP workers have been killed. The recent killings in West Bengal are inhuman. We condemn this brutal political murder and the murder culture. The people of West Bengal will teach a lesson to those who indulge in such acts. Political murder has no place in a democracy," said Javadekar.With inputs from agencies