BENGALURU: A gang of armed assailants hacked a 40-year-old realtor to death as his wife watched helplessly in Yelahanka New Town on Friday morning.The victim, Charan Gowda, was the managing director of Dhani Properties. A native of Channapatna in Ramanagara district (Bengaluru South), Charan lived near Kogilu Cross in Yelahanka.Charan had been in the real estate business for over a decade and ran Dhani Properties, which has an office in Yelahanka New Town.Police suspect that real estate-related rivalry led to the gruesome killing. According to sources, the assailants, who arrived on two-wheelers, fled in different directions after the attack.Preliminary police investigations revealed that Charan and his wife regularly reached the office by 10am. The office is located on the first floor of a commercial complex in Yelahanka New Town.“The couple arrived around 10am, as usual. His wife got down first and walked towards the staircase. Charan, who was checking his mobile phone, got out of the driver’s seat a few minutes later and was following his wife when the attack took place,” police officers said, quoting eyewitnesses.In a desperate attempt to save him, his wife reportedly pleaded with people nearby to help take him to a hospital.A senior police officer said the attackers repeatedly struck Charan on the head and face, leaving him no chance to escape.“In less than two minutes, the attackers fled on motorbikes in different directions. By then, his wife had returned to the spot but could only watch helplessly,” an investigating officer said.Charan was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.
