Bengaluru: The police have arrested two more men on Thursday for stabbing a 28-year-old BJP worker to death on Wednesday night at Chinnappa Garden in JC Nagar police limits.

The case has been handed over to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) following demands for an independent probe. The victim, Santosh, was returning from a birthday party when four men allegedly attacked him and stabbed him with a screwdriver. He was taken to a hospital where he died.

Investigations so far have revealed that Santosh and the prime accused Wasim — son of a Congress functionary — had several run-ins over the last four months. Apart from Wasim who is the son of block Congress president, Khadar, the other three accused arrested for murder are Philips, a gym trainer by profession, Umar, a tile worker; and Irfan, a tailor. Santosh was an autorickshaw driver, and his father runs a bakery in the neighbourhood.

According to sources, the duo clashed over personal issues first, four months ago, which later acquired a communal and political edge. The victim’s family members alleged that the trigger for the chain of events leading to the fight was an altercation the two men had over flex banners Santosh had put up in their neighbourhood for Vivekananda Jayanti two weeks ago.