Bengaluru, Oct 16 (IANS): A 45-year-old pub owner – Manish Shetty - was shot dead late on Thursday night by rival gang members, the police said.

Shetty was reportedly a close associate of Morocco-based fugitive underworld don Bannanje Raja.

The police suspect that members of the Rashid Malabari gang might have carried out the attack, as this is their typical style of murdering rivals in the coastal region of Karnataka, where single barrel gun is often used by gang members to eliminate their rivals, unlike the Bengaluru underworld which often uses machete or sword as its main weapon to eliminate its rivals.

The police added that Shetty was also a rowdysheeter and was wanted in several cases of robbery and murder in Mangaluru and Udupi districts.

According to the police, the deceased Manish Shetty aka Sarvatham Shetty was the owner of Duet pub on RHP Road off Brigade Road in Bengaluru.

Shetty hailed from Koppa village in Chikkamagalurur district.

Speaking to reporters, Deputy Commissioner of Police (central division), M.N. Anucheth, said that at around 9 pm, an incident of shooting occurred in the Cubbon Park police station limits.

"Shetty, aged about 45 years, was shot at by unknown bike-borne assailants in front of his bar located on RHP Road," he said in a statement released to the media.

Shetty was shifted to the Mallya hospital for treatment but the hospital declared him brought dead.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru city Police Commissioner Kamal Panth, who visited the spot, told reporters that the preliminary investigation pointed at the Managluru rivalry connection. "We have definite clues, we will arrest the culprits soon," he said.