Bengaluru, December 24: Hours after Janata Dal (Secular) leader H Prakash was killed in Mandya district by goons, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was seen giving an order – most likely to a police officer - to "mercilessly kill" to avenge the killing of a local leader of his party. Though he said later that he was emotional at that time, after being criticised for his comments.

In a video recorded by a local journalist, HD Kumaraswamy was seen saying, “He (H Prakash) was a good man. I don't know who killed him in this way. Kill the miscreant mercilessly in a shootout. There would be no problem.” Kumaraswamy Unwilling to Talk on Farmers' Issue: BS Yeddyurappa.

Stating that it was an ‘emotional’ reaction, Kumaraswamy later tried to clarify on Monday, “It was not my order, I was emotional at that moment. They (the killers) are the reason for two murders and they were in jail. They came out on bail two days ago and killed another person...this is how they are misusing bail.”

The Chief Minister stated that he was shocked to hear about the killing of JDS leader H Prakash and it was just an outburst. According to the report, the JDS leader was hacked to death on Monday around 4.30 pm in Mandya in south Karnataka. He was reportedly chased by four men on motorcycles and was attacked with machetes. Prakash later succumbed to injuries at Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 25, 2018 10:16 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).