KRISHNAGIRI: A 19-year-old youth died at a hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday of injuries suffered after he was attacked with a machete during a clash between two Muslim groups near Hosur the previous day. The deceased was identified as B Sartaj.
The incident occurred on Monday during the birth anniversary celebrations of Islamic Front founder Palani Baba at a marriage hall in Mathigiri near Hosur. During dinner at the end of the event, organised by Tamilaga Makkal Jananayaka Katchi (TMJK) and Palani Baba Peravai (PBP), A Sinu of the PBP picked up an argument with TMJK district secretary Manzoor Ali Khan, 32, and Mahboob Basha, 30, of VOC Nagar. A scuffle ensued and Sinu was forced out of the hall.
He returned with his friends H Pavan Prakash, 19, and B Sartaj, 19, and attacked Manzoor Ali Khan and Mahboob Basha with logs, steel rods and machetes. Others in the hall retaliated and Sartaj, Pavan and Mahboob Basha sustained injuries.
"While Basha was taken to the Hosur Government Hospital, Pavan and Sartaj were taken to NIMHANS hospital in Bengaluru where Sartaj died on Tuesday," Hosur ASP B K Arvind said.
Following a complaint from Sartaj's father Bayas, police registered a case against Mahboob Basha, Mohammed Sahib, 32, Mubarak, 29, Imran, 30 and Ahmad, 30. "Basha is under treatment. The rest escaped,"Arvind said, adding that a special team is searching for the accused.