Police opened fire when the mob tried to storm police station and loot arms: CM Yediyurappa
Bengaluru, Dec 22: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Sunday charged the opposition Congress and JDS leaders with trying to mislead the minorities by making false claims and whipping up their emotions over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Citizen of Register (NRC).
"There are misconceptions about the two (CAA and NRC) and opposition leaders, including Siddaramaiah (Congress) and H D Kumaraswamy (JDS) are trying to mislead the people. They are trying to whip up the emotions of the innocent minorities," he said.
Yediyurappa was addressing reporters on the CAA and NRC issue that has triggered widespread protests across the country, including Karnataka.
Asserting that the opposition to CAA and proposed NRC have no base and fears on the issue were unfounded, the senior BJP leader said they would not cause any harm to any Indian.
"My appeal to the people is that CAA and NRC are nationalistic laws and they will not cause harm to any Indian.
CAA and NRC are in tune with the Constitution and its secular values," he said.
Hitting out at Kumaraswamy over his comments against the police firing in Mangaluru that left two people dead on Thursday after the protests there turned violent, the chief minister said the JDS leader should know the facts about the incidents.
Police opened fire when a mob tried to storm a police station and loot the arms, he said.
Slamming Kumaraswamy for his statement that the mob in Mangaluru had not gathered to wage a war, Yediyurappa sought to know whether the violation of prohibitory orders was not a war against the Constitution and the law.
"When the mob tried to disturb peace and indulged in arson and looting should the police have to keep quiet? Are police not duty bound to protect the innocents and property?" he said.
The opposition leaders were showing disrespect to the Constitution and the Parliament which had passed the citizenship amendment bill, he charged.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
