Bangalore : A young reveller lost his life on New Year’s Eve after he was allegedly stabbed by companions following a tiff during the celebrations.

The victim, Karthik Vishnu, a 30-year-old software engineer from Chennai, was employed with a private IT company in the City till six months ago. He, along with friends, including two women, went for a New Year party at the La Marvella hotel near South End Circle in Jayanagar, Block II, late on Monday. Tempers flared during the celebrations as Karthik picked a quarrel with his friends. He was allegedly bashed up even as the celebrations were underway.

Subsequently, the security personnel at the hotel forced them to clear out. The culprits then dragged him out of the hotel, stabbed him on the stomach and dumped his body on a pavement before fleeing the spot in autos, the police said.

One of the security guards, who witnessed the attack on Karthik, informed the police.  
“Our men got an alert that a youth’s body was lying on the pavement close to the hotel. We were initially told that the youth might have fallen from an autorickshaw,” said City Police Commissioner B G Jyothi Prakash Mirji.

The Siddapura police rushed to the spot and recovered the body. “The police noticed injury marks due to stabbing on his stomach, face and thighs and concluded that it was a case of murder,” Mirji added.

Karthik’s identity was established from his identity card. “We had strictly instructed the hoteliers to install CCTV cameras during the celebrations. The hotel management had installed the cameras which captured images of entry and exit of some youth, along with Karthik,” he added. The police subsequently launched a man hunt.

Three people have been taken into custody in connection with the incident. Preliminary investigations revealed that Karthik had come to Bangalore about seven days ago and was staying with friends in Madiwala.

DHNS