DK Shivakumar arrest: Thousands of Vokkaligas protest in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Thousands of people belonging to the Vokkaliga community took out a protest rally here on Wednesday against the arrest of senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar and to express solidarity with him as the issue appeared to take a caste colour.
The protesters poured into the city from different parts of the State, particularly the Vokkaliga stronghold of Old Mysuru region, in respose to "Raj Bhavan Chalo" call given by various outfits of the community.
Vokkaliga and Lingayat are the two dominant communities of Karnataka.
Shivakumar, an influential Congress leader of Karnataka and a former Minister, was arrested on September 3 by the Enforcement Directorate in a case of alleged money laundering and has been in the custody of the agency since then.
The protest march from National College grounds to Freedom Park and then to the Raj Bhavan was backed by the opposition Congress and the JDS.
Holding placards, banners and posters of Shivakumar, the rallyists raised anti-BJP slogans. Thousands of policemen had been deployed all along the route to ensure law and order.
Anticipating a huge turnout, police had diverted traffic which was however thrown out of gear leading to snarlsin parts of the city.
The ED has summoned Shivakumar's daughter Aishwarya in connection with its probe against the former Minister. She has been asked to depose before the investigating officer of the case on September 12.
It is expected that her statement would be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and questioned over aspects including Shivakumar's trip to Singapore in 2017 vis-a-vis money laundering allegations.
The ED had in September last year registered a money laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others.
This criminal case was based on an Income-tax department charge sheet filed against Shivakumar and others before a court in Bengaluru for alleged tax evasion and hawala dealings.
Accusing the BJP government of indulging in "vendetta politics", Shivakumar had on Tuesday exuded confidence that he will emerge "victorious" both legally and politically.
He also thanked party leaders and supporters for standing behind him and urged them to hold a peaceful protest here on Wednesday and not cause any inconvenience to common people.
"I would like to reiterate that I have done nothing wrong & am a target of vendetta politics.
With the support and blessings that I am receiving from all of you, and my belief in God and our judiciary, I have full faith that I will emerge victorious both legally and politically (sic)," a tweet from Shivakumar's Twitter handle read.
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Woman cop shoots, injures rape accused trying to flee during crime reconstruction in Gujarat
Ahmedabad (PTI): A man held for allegedly raping a 4-year-old girl sustained a leg injury after a woman police inspector shot at him when he tried to flee during the crime reconstruction process in Gandhinagar in Gujarat, an official said on Sunday.
Ram Yadav (40) is in hospital and is out of danger, Section 21 police station inspector Lata Desai, who opened fire, said.
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"On the night of December 15, Yadav allegedly abducted a 4-year-old girl who was sleeping with her mother, a construction labourer, in a makeshift hut. He raped her at an isolated spot in Sector 24. After she confided in her mother, a case was registered and Yadav was held from a spot in Sector 25," Desai said.
"When we took him to the spot of the incident for panchnama and crime reconstruction on Saturday evening, Yadav pushed police personnel and began to run from the area. I issued a warning and then fired three rounds when Yadav was about 30 feet away. One round hit his leg," Desai said.
