BELAGAVI, 15 FEB

Lavoo Suryaji Mamledar, a former legislator from Goa who represented the Ponda constituency from 2012 to 2017, was brutally beaten to death by a rickshaw driver in Belagavi on Saturday afternoon. The 69-year-old had just arrived in the city and booked a room at a hotel on Khade Bazar when his car slightly brushed against the rickshaw while navigating narrow curves.

Following a heated argument, the rickshaw driver demanded compensation for the alleged damage, which Mamledar refused. As he exited his vehicle at the hotel, the driver confronted him and struck him in the face, causing the former legislator to collapse. He was rushed to the emergency unit of the government civil hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

The rickshaw driver has been apprehended, although his identity has not yet been disclosed. Mamledar was a member of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and was defeated by a Congress candidate in the 2017 elections.