Fairoz Pathan, a 32-year-old Youth Congress leader from Karnataka, was killed on Friday evening. The incident, which was caught on CCTV, took place at Pathan's house in Dharwad, at around 6:30 pm.
Pathan was sitting on the porch when a man in blue-and-white checkered shirt trespassed into his house and sat next to him. Meanwhile, two other men came and stood right outside the gate.
Footage then shows Pathan talking to someone on a call while standing at the entrance. The man in the checkered shirt follows him and suddenly stabs Pathan in the stomach. Pathan runs inside, and the attacker follows him along with the two others who were waiting outside. One more man joins them shortly after.
Around 40 seconds after Pathan was stabbed, the four assailants walked out of the house one after another. Neighbours stood outside, confused by the chain of events.
Preliminary police investigations indicates that the accused were allegedly his own friends. Addressing the media, Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner N Shashikumar said that both Pathan and the accused were closely associated and were part of the same political party. However, recent differences had reportedly developed between them, which is suspected to have led to the crime.
Pathan's body was later found on the bedroom floor. He appears to have suffered a head injury, as he lay in a pool of blood.
Pathan was set to get married on April 24, but his life was cut short in this brutal attack.
The accused carried out the murder and escaped immediately after the attack. CCTV footage from the area has captured visuals of the suspects fleeing, which is expected to play a crucial role in the investigation.
Police have registered a case and launched a manhunt to trace and arrest the accused. Further investigation is underway to ascertain the motive behind the murder.
