Congress will raise Bengaluru violence issue in assembly: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: Demanding a fair probe into last month's violence in the city, Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said the Congress will raise the issue during the coming monsoon session of the state legislature.
The former Chief Minister, who was under COVID-19 treatment when the incident occurred, today visited D J Halli and adjoining areas, where rioters were involved in arson on the night of August 11.
"I urge the government that the inquiry has to happen as soon as possible. It should be fair and the guilty should be punished," Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said whoever was responsible and however influential they are, they should be punished if found guilty. Innocent people should not be punished, he said.
Further pointing out that he has demanded constitution of a judicial commission to probe the incident for the truth to come out, Siddaramaiah said "even today I demand a judicial commission, headed by a sitting High Court judge.
"We will raise the issue (Bengaluru violence) in the assembly," he said in response to a question. The monsoon session of the legislature will be held from September 21 to 30.
Three people were killed after police opened fire on August 11 night to quell a mob that went on a rampage over an inflammatory social media post allegedly put out by P Naveen, a relative of Pulakeshinagar Congress MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy.
The MLAs residence and a police station at D J Halli were torched by the rioters, who also set ablaze many police and private vehicles, besides looting the belongings of the legislator and his sister.
More than 300 people have been arrested in connection with the violence and investigation is on.
Also, retired judge, Justice H S Kempanna has been appointed as the "Claims Commissioner" to assess the damage caused during the violence and to recover the costs from the culprits.
To a query about the alleged involvement of some Congress corporators behind the incident, Siddaramaiah asked how someone can be blamed unless it is proved or there is evidence.
"I don't want to talk about any party, the inquiry is still in the preliminary stage. We cannot say such things like BJP leaders and the Home Minister are doing at this stage."
Siddaramaiah opined that if the police had announced Naveen's arrest to the mob immediately, mostly this level of violence wouldn't have happened.
Asserting that only the guilty should be punished, he said, "according to some, there are innocents among those arrested, during the investigation if there is no evidence against them, they should be released. Innocents should not be punished, they should not be sent to jail."
Reacting to this, BJP National General Secretary B L Santosh, who has been critical of Siddaramaiah, accusing him of not condemning the rioters who attacked the house of his own party Dalit MLA Murthy, reiterated his allegation.
"Ex-CM from @INCKarnataka just gives sanction for destruction & riots in case of even flimsy grievance. No wonder he was voted out conclusively by voters of Karnataka. Cant condemn riots or attack on his Partys Dalit MLA, but bats for rioters," Santosh tweeted.
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Bridge portion collapses on Jammu outskirts; 3-4 labourers feared trapped, 1 rescued
Jammu (PTI): A portion of a small bridge collapsed in the Bantalab area on the outskirts of Jammu city on Friday, trapping at least three to four labourers under the debris, while one injured worker was rescued, official sources said.
Authorities have closed the road link following the collapse of the portion of the bridge.
The incident occurred when labourers were carrying out repair work on a retaining wall near the bridge that was damaged in last year's flash floods, the sources said.
According to the sources, a section of the bridge suddenly gave way, burying workers engaged at the site under the rubble.
Police, Army and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams launched rescue operations to extricate those buried under the debris. They pulled out one injured labourer and shifted him to a hospital, the sources said.
Family members of the labourers present at the site said around six workers engaged at the site at the time of the incident came under the debris when the structure collapsed. The family members said while two of the labourers managed to escape, four got trapped.
The sources said those trapped included the husband of a woman labourer, a mason, an unmarried labourer and a relative of the contractor.
There was no official confirmation on the exact number of persons trapped under the debris till the filing of this report.
The rescue operations are ongoing.
