Bengaluru, July 11: The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of a private firm were allegedly killed in a terrifying double murder in broad daylight by a former employee on Tuesday, police said.

The police identified the deceased as Phanindra Subramanya and Vinu Kumar, who were MD and CEO of Aironics Media Private Limited respectively.

The incident occurred at Pampa Extension, Amrithahalli here.

According to the police, the accused named Felix is said to be a former employee of Aironics and is now on the run.

The accused barged into the Aironics office and attacked the MD and CEO with a "sharp object", said DCP Northeast Laxmi Prasad.

Both persons died on the way to the hospital.

Felix previously worked at Aironics but quit to form his own company, which is said to be a rival business.

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Bengaluru (PTI): At least 43.75 per cent of voters in Karnataka's Bagalkot, where polling for a by-election is underway, exercised their franchise by 1 pm on Thursday.

Davanagere South recorded a turnout of 37.17 per cent, the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office said.

The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).

While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.

A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.

In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.

The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.

The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.

Samarth's father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.

The BJP is looking to make gains in the bypolls and energise its cadre ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. For the Congress, retaining both seats is crucial, as a loss could be seen as a negative verdict on the performance of the Siddaramaiah-led government.

In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP's Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP's B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.