A 29-year-old rowdy sheeter was hacked to death by a group of unidentified assailants on the busy J.P. Nagar Main Road on Saturday.

Police suspect it to be a revenge killing linked to old gang rivalries.

The deceased, identified as Raja alias Halmurka Raja, a resident of Pragathipuram, was attacked around 5.30 p.m. near Indira Gandhi (IG) Circle under the jurisdiction of the J.P. Nagar police station.

According to police, Raja had stopped for tea and was walking along the roadside when four to five armed assailants suddenly attacked him with machetes and other sharp weapons. He attempted to flee but was chased down and repeatedly hacked in full public view amidst heavy traffic and the attackers escaped.

Police rushed to the spot, shifted the body for postmortem examination and registered a murder case.

CCTV footage from the area is being examined, and a manhunt has been launched to trace the accused. Priliminary probe revealed that the murder was the result of longstanding gang rivalry.

Raja was a rowdy sheeter with several criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder and robbery. Police said he had been named in the sensational murder case of Banashankari rowdy “Stand Kutti” which took place nearly a decade ago.

He had reportedly spent time in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison along with another accused in that case before securing bail.

Though Raja had claimed in recent years that he had reconciled with Kutti’s associates and had stayed away from criminal activities, police are probing whether Saturday’s murder was an act of revenge connected to that case.

Sources in the police said Raja was previously associated with notorious rowdy gangs from South Bengaluru and had allegedly worked with several underworld operatives. He was also accused in other murder cases, including a double murder under the Subramanyapura police limits.

Further investigation is underway.