'Shoot them mercilessly': Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy's order caught on tape

Bengaluru, Dec 25: Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has landed in controversy after he was caught on tape giving instructions to "shoot down mercilessly" the accused in the murder of a JD(S) worker who was hacked to death on Monday.

In a video that has emerged from the Chief Minister's visit to the scene of the crime, HD Kumaraswamy is heard saying on the phone, "He was a good man. I don't know who killed him and who killed him in this manner. Shoot them(the killers) mercilessly, there would be no issues."

However, the chief minister later clarified that he was shocked to hear about the killing and it was just an emotional outburst.

"It was not an order passed by me as the chief minister. It was due to anger. The suspects are wanted in two other murder cases. They were in jail and now they have killed one more person," he said.

The JDS local leader Prakash was hacked to death today in Mandya. The men opened the car's back door, where Prakash was sitting and attacked him. Initial reports said Prakash was alive after the attack but succumbed to his injuries later.

The incident prompted protests by party workers who blocked the Bengaluru-Mysuru and Bengaluru-Dindigul highways, alleging that political rivalry was behind the "murder".