Mysuru gang-rape: Former CM H D Kumaraswamy says "follow what was done in Hyderabad"
Bengaluru, Aug 27: JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy on Friday appeared to suggest to deal with alleged rapists of a college student near Mysuru, on the lines of police action in Telangana nearly two years ago when perpetrators of such a crime were shot dead.
Amid outrage over the gang-rape, Karnataka Minister Anand Singh said: "Everything of the perpetrators should be chopped off."
Speaking to reporters in Chennapatna, Kumaraswamy said, "I appreciate the Hyderabad police in dealing with a rape case. What did they do finally? Unless stringent action is taken things will not improve."
The former Chief Minister was referring to the way the Hyderabad police shot dead the four alleged rapists who had burnt alive a veterinarian along with her vehicle after committing the crime at Shamshabad in the Telangana capital in 2019.
While recreating the crime scene, all the four accused were taken to the spot. When they allegedly tried to escape, Telangana police shot them.
"The government should handle it delicately and follow what was done in Hyderabad," Kumaraswamy added.
He blamed the government and police for the incident, which "did not stop people from drinking in public places". He alleged that gambling activities were rampant in villages.
Flaying "police for targeting innocent people and not the anti-social elements", he said the police department has become inept due to the "transfer for money".
He even added that the existing system encouraged the criminals.
"In our existing system, the accused are sent to jail and then they come out on bail after a few days. There is a belief that nothing will happen," the JD(S) leader said.
Karnataka Tourism, Environment and Ecology Minister Anand Singh said, "Everything of the perpetrators should be chopped off. Such incidents should not have happened."
Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa said the police were investigating the case sincerely and were working beyond their capacity to trace the criminals.
"I am confident that the criminals will be caught and punished accordingly," Yediyurappa said.
Reacting to the incident, Congress MLA from Belagavi Rural constituency Laxmi Hebbalkar demanded capital punishment for the criminals as they not only perpetrated the heinous crime, but also made a video and tried to extort money from the victim.
She even wondered why the police could not trace the criminals even after "so many days".
The medical student with her male friend were on their way to the Chamundi hills on the outskirts of Mysuri on Tuesday evening when at least four people waylaid them and gang-raped her after assaulting him.
The gang members also allegedly made a video and threatened to make it viral unless they paid them Rs three lakh, police sources said.
When the girl and her male friend expressed their inability, they thrashed them.
The girl was later admitted to a hospital where she narrated the trauma she underwent.
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PM Modi cancelled Kashmir visit after receiving intelligence report on terror attack, alleges Kharge
Ranchi, May 6 (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had cancelled his Kashmir visit after "receiving an intelligence report three days before" the Pahalgam terror attack last month.
Noting that during an all-party meeting, the Centre accepted "intelligence failure" in the Pahalgam carnage, Kharge said the union government should be held accountable for "not reinforcing" security arrangements in Kashmir to protect people, even after such inputs.
Reacting to Kharge's allegation, the BJP claimed that the Congress president's criticism of PM Modi over alleged intelligence failure in the Pahalgam terror attack was intended to "lower the morale of security forces".
Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi said that Kharge's comment at a critical time when the "fight against terrorism and Pakistan was at a decisive juncture" was "uncalled for".
Addressing a 'Samvidhan Bachao' rally in Jharkhand's capital, Ranchi, the Congress chief claimed that he "got information that three days before the attack, an intelligence report was sent to Modi ji, and that is why Modi ji cancelled his visit to Kashmir".
"When an intelligence report says that it is not proper to visit there for your security, why did you not inform your security, intelligence, local police, and border force to protect people," the Congress chief asked.
He also claimed, "When you (PM) got the information, you cancelled your programme but did not send more forces to protect tourists there."
Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
Kharge claimed, "India is faced with a huge crisis. The Centre accepted the intelligence failure during the all-party meeting. You (PM Modi) admitted that there was an intelligence flaw. When the Centre knew about the possible terror strike, why did it not put in place a system to protect people?"
"Shouldn't the Centre be accountable for the loss of lives in the Pahalgam attack when it accepted the intelligence failure," he asked.
Kharge asserted that the Congress stands behind the Centre for "any action against Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack" as the country is "supreme and beyond party, religion and caste".
He claimed, "We fight for India, poor people, tribals", but the BJP and the PM believed "only in 'jumla' (rhetoric)".
Kharge also alleged that Modi's policy is to "close public sector institutions, like HEC in Ranchi, and snatch jobs from SC, ST, OBC communities".
There were 30 lakh job vacancies, but the government was "silent" on it, he claimed.
Kharge accused the Centre of unleashing forces, like the ED, against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who made "efforts to sustain a paper" like the National Herald, which played a "crucial role in India's Independence struggle".
"Unlike any Jana Sangh, RSS or BJP leader, several Congress leaders, including former PM Jawaharlal Nehru, were imprisoned. Now, these people are teaching us the lesson of patriotism," he said.
Kharge alleged that agencies like ED were "misused to scare opposition leaders" and said that only two persons were penalised in around 200 cases.
Alleging that the prime minister was "instrumental" in sending a tribal CM (Hemant Soren) behind bars, Kharge said, "PM Modi shouldn't indulge in practices to frighten tribal leaders".
The Congress chief said he has written to the PM, requesting him to carry out the caste census at the earliest after holding a dialogue with all political parties on this issue.
"In a letter to the PM, I have urged him to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservation by a constitutional amendment and immediately implement Article 15(5) providing for reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs in institutions," he said.
The Jharkhand BJP hit out at Kharge for his attack on the PM over the Pahalgam attack, claiming that the Congress chief's criticism of PM Modi over alleged intelligence failure was intended to "lower the morale of security forces".
"The Congress is indulging in politics at a time when the country stands with PM Modi in the fight against terror", BJP's Marandi said.
