Unidentified people killed lawyer-turned activist Ajit Nayak in Dandeli, sparking protest in several towns in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district, The News Minute reported on Sunday. The police are searching for his attackers, who fled the scene.

Nayak was on his way home after finishing work around 9.30 pm on Friday when unknown assailants attacked him on JN road. The police suspect the assailants used sharp weapons to attack him leaving him with injuries on the left side of his head and ear.

Sub-inspector Ullas Parmar told The News Minute that no arrests have been made till now. “All angles are being probed,” Parmar said. “We have gathered CCTV footage from his office but that has not helped us identify the attackers.”

His murder drew protests from members of bar associations in Sirsi and Karwar with many boycotting court proceedings on Saturday.

Nayak was a proponent for several environmental causes, including the rejuvenation of the Kali river. He was the president of the Dandeli Taluk Horata Samiti and an active campaigner of the Kali Bachao Andolan, a movement to safeguard the Kali River from damming, industrial pollution and rampant sand mining. He was also the former president of the Dandeli Block Congress Committee.