Inside the city’s new age of street violence: ‘Half Bat’ replaces ‘Long’

Daniel George

A brutal murder in Halasuru has spotlighted the emergence of a deadly new weapon — the 'Half Bat'. Once ruled by the infamous ‘Long’, Bengaluru’s underworld is now embracing this compact killing tool that is reshaping the city’s street gang warfare.

The brutal murder of a notorious rowdy sheeter near War Memorial Circle in Halasuru on Tuesday night has cast a chilling spotlight on the latest trend in Bengaluru’s gang warfare. Shivakumar alias Biklu Shiva, who had several cases against him, was hacked to death on the spot by a five-member gang using a weapon known as the ‘Half Bat’ — a shorter, deadlier variant of the once-prevalent ‘Long’. The attackers used sharp weapons to bludgeon Shiva, with photos showing his internal organs, including the brain, exposed.

The Half Bat, measuring just 17 cm compared to the 22.8 cm Long, weighs around 2kg but is more compact and easier to conceal. Its shorter grip makes it more effective in ambushes, allowing attackers — ominously called “batsmen” — to strike fast and fatally, often within seconds. “Earlier, Longs could be grabbed during a scuffle, but the Half Bat gives better grip and control. One blow and it’s a ‘wicket’,” said a young rowdy from Bengaluru, using the coded language of the city’s underworld.

The terminology is part of an elaborate lexicon now commonly used by gangs. “Batsmen” are those who carry out the killings. “Fielders” are spotters who monitor the target’s movement. Reconnaissance trips to locate a victim are called doing “Rounds”. And a successful assassination — such as Tuesday night’s — is called taking a “wicket”.

According to police sources, these weapons are crafted in the semi-rural belts of Hosakote, about 25 km from Bengaluru. Rowdies custom-order these blades to their specifications, making them both accessible and hard to trace. Previously, such weapons — especially the billhook-style Long — were sourced from Tamil Nadu’s Karaikudi region, but a recent crackdown there has shifted demand to local blacksmiths in Karnataka.

The Half Bat has been linked to at least six gruesome murders in Bengaluru East over the past two years, all involving head blows, indicating a growing preference among foot soldiers of the underworld. Its rise has coincided with a decline in the use of the Long, once a symbol of terror in Bengaluru’s crime history.

The Long gained notoriety in the city on January 25, 1977, when don MP Jayaraj attacked rival Thigalarpete Gopi on court premises. Though Gopi survived, the incident marked the start of a violent era dominated by Longs, which continued until a few years ago when public killings became more frequent.

Ironically, it took a civilian confrontation, not a gang war, for the Long to be officially banned. In 2017, a woman at a construction site threatened employees with a Long. Former anti-rowdy squad police officer Lava Kumar filed a case, but the Karnataka High Court dismissed it as the weapon was not covered under the Arms Act. Kumar then approached then-Police Commissioner and now CBI Director Praveen Sood, who persuaded the state government to issue a notification on August 28, 2017, bringing Long under the Arms Act.