Five-member gang thrashes rickshaw driver to make him reveal whereabouts of murder witnessA 21-year-old auto rickshaw driver, Muruga, was brutally beaten by a five-member-gang at 12 am today. The gang runs a money-lending business, and was just out of jail for murder.u00a0Muruga had earlier complained to the KS Layout police that the same rowdies had been threatening him ever since they got out of jail.u00a0Two of the gang members Satish and Sunil had been asking Muruga for the whereabouts of Anand, a friend of his, and a murder witness. Auto driver Muruga nurses his wounds after the attack on him.Apparently, Anand had been absconding because the rowdies had been threatening to kill him, since Anand had been a friend of the deceased, Venu, and knew about the gang.u00a0Muruga told them that he had not seen Anand for the past five months.When the gang failed to get Anand's address they started a fight with Muruga, but he avoided them. This irritated the gang and they asked him to not drive his auto in front of their office.u00a0Muruga didn't bother, and kept driving as usual. Finally annoyed with Muruga, Satish and Sunil, along with other members attacked him with sticks and daggers.u00a0They also chased his friends, but when they realised that the persons were more in number, they stopped.However, Muruga managed to escape, and registered a complaint at the Kumarswamy Layout police station.Muruga has asked for police protection. The KS Layout police have filed a case and started an investigation.