Murdered corporator S Nataraj was a close confidant of the Gundu Rao family and a lieutenant of Gandhinagar constituency MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao. Speaking to DNA, Rao said he knew Nataraj for the past 30 years and Nataraj was like a family member.
“He did not have any enemies. He was not involved in real estate or financial business,” said Rao.
The MLA suspects a political agenda to be the murder motive. It was a pre-planned act, he added.
Rao said that a few months ago, former corporator Govindaraju was attacked a few metres away from where the Nataraj was murdered on Sampige Road. Even though the police knew the assailants and their motive, they did not act, he said. Rao said the murder was planned to pin the murder blame on Subhashnagar councillor T Mallesh.
“Mallesh has also been under threat and he has two gunmen for his protection,” said Rao. He said the programmes undertaken by the Congress in Gandhinagar have been successful. He contended that political rivals in the area want to defeat him by targeting his associates.
He added that he would renounce politics if the police failed to take action against those who are attacking Congress workers. The circumstances are such that he too will need a bodyguard from now on, said Rao.
