CHIKKAMAGALUR: A 38-year-old gram panchayat member and Congress leader who was also a director of the district Vokkaligara Sangha, was brutally murdered in Sakharayapatna on Friday night.

The incident occurred around 8.30 pm on Friday after Ganesh received a phone call from Sanjay Gowda, a rival, and was lured to a deserted area near the Kalmurudeshwara Temple, just a short distance from Sakharayapatna. There, Ganesh was attacked and killed with stones and sharp objects.

Earlier on Friday evening, Ganesh and Sanjay Gowda had a scuffle near a bar in Sakharayapatna over a flex banner issue. Locals intervened and separated them, but Sanjay Gowda allegedly called Ganesh and asked him to come to the Kalmurudeshwara Temple area, where he was attacked and killed.

The police have arrested two s

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