Corporator shot dead in gang war

Bengaluru, Jan. 16: In a shocking incident, corporator of Banashankari Temple Ward (ward number 180), Mohammed Ali alias Diwan Ali was shot dead by a gang of seven men in broad daylight on Sunday. The police suspect that one Maheem, a rowdy who was a known rival of Ali since many years, was behind the gruesome murder.JD (S) corporator Diwan Ali (who was also a rowdy in the past) was having a haircut at a saloon near his office in Yarabnagar at around 11.30 am when he was attacked by the gang. Ali tried to escape but the gang chased him down. One of the gang members reportedly shot him twice and one of the rounds pierced his heart and he died on the spot. The assailants, around seven of them, had come on motorcycles and had parked the bikes on the main road. They first attacked Ali at the saloon and when he ran towards a lane opposite the shop they chased him. Alis two associates, Umar and Khaleem, tried to resist but in vain. The assailants attacked them with lethal weapons while one of them opened fire at Ali, a senior police official said.Diwan Ali had come out of prison and won from the Banashankari Temple Ward on a JD (S) ticket. He had more than 35 cases, including murder, attempted murder, abduction and dacoity, in various police stations and courts. Since 1994, Alis name had been in the list of rowdies at Banashankari police station. Tension prevailed till late evening at Yarabnagar after the murder. Shop owners pulled down their shutters and residents stayed indoors. The autopsy was conducted at KIMS. Police said Alis body bore 12 cut injuries and one bullet injury.

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