Four held for knife attack on Congress leader in Karnataka

Ankola: Police on Wednesday detained four people in connection with the knife attack on senior Congress leader Gopalakrishna Nayak in Ankola town. Nayak, a close aide of home minister G Parameshwara, was attacked by a gang of six while he was coming out of a salon on Wednesday morning.The assailants stabbed Nayak multiple times in the stomach and head, leaving him seriously injured. Another person accompanying him also sustained stab wounds in the attack. Both were rushed to a private hospital in Ankola, where they are undergoing treatment.The attackers arrived in a Goa-registered car and fled immediately after the assault. Acting on leads, police intercepted four of the accused near the Majali check post as they were trying to escape towards Goa. The other two suspects are still at large.Police said the four detained accused were travelling in a taxi towards Goa, leaving behind the car used for the attack. They had crossed the Hattikeri toll gate and were close to the Goa border when police traced them using CCTV footage and intercepted them at Majali, a border town between Karwar and Goa.Investigators suspect the attack was a planned contract killing, with indications that a "supari" was issued to murder Nayak. Some of the accused are believed to be from Bihar. Uttara Kannada SP Deepan MN visited the spot and is personally supervising the investigation. A case has been registered at the Ankola police station.