History sheeter shot dead in TN by police
Chennai (PTI): 'Seizing' Raja, a proclaimed offender who was arrested from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, was shot dead here on Monday after he attempted to flee from custody by opening fire on them, police said.
When the accused was taken to a location on the outskirts of the city to recover weapons hidden by him, he tried to escape and shot at the police team.
A police officer fired at him in self-defence and he succumbed to his injuries, a senior official said.
Responding to the incident, Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram said the encounters are a reflection of bad policing.
Many years ago, while working for a loan recovery agent, N Raja (51) used to 'seize' vehicles of defaulters and hence, he came to be known as 'seizing' Raja and later became infamous for his 'involvement' in criminal offences, police sources said.
"In the initial two places where he led the police, there were no weapons and in the third place, there was a country-made pistol. While pretending to hand over it, he fired twice at an inspector and luckily, it missed the target and hit the vehicle." Another inspector, who was on the spot, fired at the accused for self-defence.
Raja, having sustained injuries, fainted, and he was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, the police official told reporters here.
Raja, who has a total of 39 serious criminal cases against him, including six for murder, has been jailed eight times under the Goondas Act. A history sheeter, there are more than 10 warrants pending against him and he is a proclaimed offender.
Special police teams were formed to nab him and based on a tip-off, they arrested him on September 22 from his hideout at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. He was handed over by the special teams to Velachery police inspector on September 23 morning and he was taken to Akkarai (East Coast Road) for recovery of weapons.
The body of the accused has been sent to Government Royapettah Hospital for autopsy.
Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram, in a post on X said: "Encounter killings is a reflection of bad & inefficient policing. This is vigilante justice & has no place in a rule of law system."
On Sunday, a video clip, purportedly of Raja's wife expressing apprehensions over the safety of her husband in police custody was shared on social media.
Politicial commentator Sumanth Raman in a social media post said: "Police "encounters" represent a failure of the criminal justice system."
Starting from July this year, this is the third encounter death in Chennai. On July 5, BSP state chief K Armstrong was hacked to death. Thiruvengadam, a key accused in the Armstrong murder case and a history sheeter 'Kakkathoppu' Balaji died in police encounters.
On July 8, senior IPS officer A Arun took over as Chennai police commissioner. Tamil Nadu's principal opposition AIADMK had for long targeted the ruling DMK over its handling of the law and order situation.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
