Karnataka Road Rage: Former Goa MLA Mamledar Dies After Being Attacked By Auto Driver At Belagavi

The auto driver followed the former Goa MLA's car and allegedly attacked the victim when he was about to go into the lodge in Belagavi.

Belagavi: Former Goa MLA Lavoo Mamledar (69) collapsed and died after being attacked by an auto driver after his car brushed past the auto. The incident took place in Belagavi city on Saturday afternoon. The incident took place in front of Srinivas Lodge in Khadebazar, Belagavi. The deceased Lavoo was a Congress MLA from Ponda constituency in Goa from 2012-2017.

The former Goa MLA's car allegedly brushed past the auto near Khadebazar. He was going towards Srinivas Lodge in his car when the auto driver followed his vehicle and attacked the former MLA in front of the lodge. After the attack, the former MLA went into lodge. As he was climbing the stairs of the lodge to go to his room, he suddenly collapsed. The entire scene of the incident was captured on the lodge's CCTV camera, police said.

The CCTV footage showed a car arriving in front of the lodge and later a man starting to pick up an argument with the former MLA. The man, who was identified as the auto driver, began raining blows on the former MLA's face. Then, the local people and the lodge staff went to the rescue of the victim by holding back the attacker. They surrounded the auto driver and stopped him from making further attacks. During this, the former MLA went into the lodge. The subsequent footage showed the former MLA climbing stairs when he suddenly collapsed there. The lodge staff immediately rushed to his help. He was later shifted to a hospital where he was declared dead.

The Market Station police, who rushed to the spot, conducted an investigation and took the accused into custody. The body has been sent to the Belagavi District Hospital, where DCP Rohan Jagadish and District Superintendent of Police Dr. Bhimashankar Guleda visited the spot and collected information.

DCP Rohan Jagadish responded to the incident and said, "The incident took place at around 1.30 pm today. Former Goa MLA Lavoo Mamledar was at Srinivas Lodge. While Mamledar was coming towards the lodge, their car collided with an auto. This got into a minor fight with the auto driver. Later, the auto driver slapped him on the forehead."

The DCP further said that after the incident, Mamledar was climbing the stairs to go to his lodge room where he collapsed. "He was immediately admitted to the Belagavi District Hospital and after conducting an ECG and other medical tests, the doctors declared him dead. We have registered a case in this regard and taken the accused into custody. We are continuing the investigation," the DCP said.