Chandrashekar Babu: The good, bad and ugly

The man murdered in Lalbagh has been described as both a redeemer and a rowdy

The man murdered in Lalbagh has been described as both a redeemer and a rowdy

Chandrashekar Babu, the man who was hacked to death in Lalbagh in full public view, was as much a saint as a sinner depending on who you speak to.

All quiet: The gates of Chandrashekhar's house are now shut to strangers pics/Vinod kumar T

Babu (38), a resident of Subramanyapura, was also known as Itamuda Babu whose family has been into real estate for a long time.

"Babu was never into financing. He was into real estate business and working as a BJP activist. He's worked really hard for this area and has done a lot for the people here," said Sadanand, who works for Chandrashekhar's real-estate company.

Gang war victim?

Babu's uncle, Muniraju, thinks the murder could be the work of a gang. "Initially, there was some enmity between him and a few people but then, that was long ago. Recently, two gangs had a fight and the one led by rowdy Paramdhama thought Babu was sponsoring the other gang and did this, I think."

Chandrashekar also had political leanings. He had recently joined the BJP and was planning to contest corporation elections. "People around here know our family very well and even this road is named after my father. Babu was into social service, that's why people have put up his pictures all over this area and nearly 8,000 people gathered for his funeral," adds Muniraju.

Rowdy, say police

But police records show the other side of Babu that of a rowdy-sheeter. He had many cases pending against him in various police stations and was associated with notorious rowdy Lingaraju, now lodged in Parappana Agrahara jail. Chandrashekar used to help Lingaraju financially which enraged the latter's rival, Paramdhama.

Paramdhama also did not like the idea of Chandrashekar getting close to the ruling party and decided to eliminate him before he could get into active politics.

Clean and peaceful

But none of the BJP party workers are ready to believe that Chandrashekar had links with rowdies. "I'd known him for the last five years and I'd worked closely with him. He hadu00a0 sobered down. In his youth, there were problems but he wanted to focus on his political career," said Janakiraman, a BJP worker.

Chandrashekar's neighbour, Manjunath K, agreed. "There was no rowdyism happening here. He was a very peaceful man," he said.