A yet another political murder has rocked Karnataka wherein the former BJP Yuva Morcha president Venkatesh has been murdered in Gangavati taluk of Koppal district. According to police, Venkatesh’s family has filed a complaint naming one Ravi as the main accused. Police said Venkatesh and Ravi had a personal rivalry since 2023 over a police case. Following the incident, Ravi and his associates went absconding.According to police, 4–5 assailants arrived in a car and attacked Venkatesh with weapons. Koppal Superintendent of Police Ram L Arasiddi said a complaint is being registered and that teams have been formed to trace and arrest the accused.
The police have ruled out connection between accused Ravi and the Congress party. Venkatesh succumbed to head and other injuries at the spot. In 2022, Praveen Nettaru, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader from Dakshina Kannada, was brutally hacked to death by assailants on a motorcycle, prompting a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe that linked the attack to extremist elements. In 2023, Praveen Kammar, another BJP Yuva Morcha activist in Dharwad, was stabbed to death during a local clash, with the police quickly apprehending the suspects but ruling out any communal angle.More recently, in 2025, Suhas Shetty, a former Bajrang Dal leader in Mangaluru, was murdered in a violent attack that led to an NIA investigation and multiple arrests.