Wanted in Bengaluru violence case, former Congress mayor R Sampath Raj arrested: Police
Bengaluru: Former Congress mayor R Sampath Raj, who was wanted in the Bengaluru violence case that left four people dead, has been arrested, police sources said on Tuesday.
Sampath Raj, the Congress corporator from Devara Jeevanahalli municipal ward, was arrested in Bengaluru, the sources said without divulging further details.
He had escaped from a private hospital where he got admitted for COVID-19.
The police recently arrested one of his aides Riyazuddin who had helped him and another Congress corporator Abdul Rakeeb Zakir to escape. He had given them shelter at Nagarhole in Mysuru.
Zakir is also wanted in the Bengaluru violence case.
Raj was wanted in connection with the cases related to the violence that rocked parts of the city on August 11. Around 3,000 to 4,000 people went on a rampage, setting ablaze the houses of Pulakeshinagar Congress MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy and his sister over an alleged inflammatory social media post by his nephew.
The mob also torched Devara Jeevanahalli and Kadugondanahalli police stations over suspicion that the nephew was present there. Three people were killed in police firing while another person died due to abdominal injuries suffered in the violence.
In the charge sheet, Raj has been charged with hatching a conspiracy with the violence to finish off the MLA politically in connivance with Zakir and a few others. Raj and Zakir were still at large and a hunt was on to nab them, police had said.
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CPI(M) rebel Kunhikrishnan hopes for 5,000-vote win in Payyanur
Kannur (Kerala) (PTI): CPI(M) rebel candidate V Kunhikrishnan, who contested as a UDF-backed Independent from Payyanur here, on Saturday said he was hoping to win the Assembly election by a margin of 5,000 votes.
Kunhikrishnan was expelled from the CPI(M) earlier this year after raising allegations of corruption in the party’s martyrs’ fund against sitting MLA T I Madhusoodanan.
Speaking to a TV channel, Kunhikrishnan said he had announced his candidature as a mark of protest and not with expectations of victory.
However, he said the situation had changed drastically, with a strong undercurrent within CPI(M) votes favouring him.
"The undercurrent in CPI(M) votes cannot be measured. Now people are giving a response indicating victory with a margin of at least 5,000 votes," he said.
Payyanur is considered a CPI(M) stronghold, and a defeat for Madhusoodanan there would be a major setback for the party.
On political violence in Payyanur, Kunhikrishnan said he had been facing it since filing his nomination.
"The people leading this violence should think about how long they can continue it. It is the police which has to take the initiative to stop this violence as part of maintaining law and order. But the police are not intervening at the required level," he said.
Regarding his political future, Kunhikrishnan said efforts were underway to strengthen Left groups, and discussions were being held across Kerala in that regard.
"After discussing with others, a decision will be taken," he said.
Kunhikrishnan is among six former CPI(M) leaders who either exited the party or were suspended before contesting for the UDF in the April 9 Assembly elections.
Elections to the 140-seat Kerala Assembly were held on April 9, and the counting of votes will be held on May 4.
