Bajrang Dal activist Harsha's friend says they received calls from unknown number on the night of stabbing

A friend of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha told India Today that Harsha received repeated calls from unknown number asking him to step out of the house on the night of stabbing.

A friend of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha, who was stabbed to death in Karnataka's Shivamogga, said Harsha received repeated calls from unknown numbers asking him to come outside.

According to Harsha's friend, they were together till around 7-8 pm when Harsha received video calls from unknown numbers, claiming to be their 'friends'. He said that they rang Harsha up several times on the night of the stabbing.

"He [Harsha] kept disconnecting the call. They kept calling him. We said four of us will take a vehicle and go. And later we said let's walk and go. We went near a canteen in Bharatinagar and stood," the friend said.

However, Harsha told his friends to get the vehicles and insisted that something was wrong.

According to Harsha's friend, when they went to get the bike they received a call saying Harsha was being chased by people wielding cricket bats.

"Four of us were together. We arrived around 9 pm to get the bike. Then Kashif [one of the accused] was running with a bat in hand. He [Harsha] was saying earlier that there were altercations. Harsha never used to go out. That day he was out, this happened," the friend said.

Harsha, a 23-year-old Bajrang Dal activist, was stabbed on Sunday night. A resident of Seegehatti, Harsha was rushed to the McGann Hospital where he succumbed to injuries.