Bengaluru (PTI): Opposition BJP legislators on Wednesday staged a sit-in demonstration near Gandhi statue in Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the Karnataka legislature, here against the brutal murder of Jain monk Acharya Sri Kamakumara Nandi Maharaj in Belagavi.
Led by former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, the legislators sat near the statue and raised slogans against the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state.
The BJP said ever since the Congress came to power in May, another round of murders of Hindu figures have started and the killing of the Jain monk was a glaring example.
The opposition party has demanded a CBI inquiry into the murder case saying it required an impartial investigation.
The Jain monk heading a monastery at Hirekodi in Chikkodi taluk of Belagavi district was chopped into pieces and his dismembered body parts were dumped in a defunct borewell.
Two people, Narayana Basappa Madi and Hassan Dalayath, have been arrested in the case. Police suspect money-related matters were behind the murder.
Former ministers R Ashoka, V Sunil Kumar Dr C N ashwath Narayan and many others joined the protest.
Later, they took out a march towards Raj Bhavan to submit a memorandum to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.
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Sukma, Jan 11: Nine hardcore Naxalites, allegedly involved in attacks on security forces and carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 43 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Saturday, police said.
The cadres, including two women, turned themselves in before senior officials from the police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) here, citing disappointment with "hollow" and "inhuman" Maoist ideology and infighting within the outlawed outfit, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.
He said the surrendered Naxalites were also impressed by the state government's 'Niyad Nellanar' (your good village) scheme, which aims at facilitating development works in remote villages and stated that senior cadres were on backfoot with the increasing pressure of security forces and setting up of police camps in interior areas.
The official said Ransai alias Oyam Buska (34), the commander of platoon no 24 of Maoists, and Pradip alias Ravva Rakesh (20), a member under a company wing of PLGA battalion no. 1, were carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh each.
He said four other cadres carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh, a woman Naxalite carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh, and two others, including a woman, carried a bounty of Rs 2 lakh each.
Chavan said Ransai was allegedly involved in attacks, including the Jhara Ghati ambush in Narayanpur district in 2007, wherein seven policemen were killed; the 2007 Ranibodli (Bijapur district) attack, in which 55 security personnel died; the 2017 ambush in Burkapal (Sukma), where 25 CRPF personnel were killed and the 2020 Minpa ambush (Sukma) that killed 17 security personnel.
The other surrendered cadres were also involved in multiple attacks on security forces, he said.
Personnel from Konta police station, District Reserve Guard (DRG), Intelligence Branch Team and 2nd and 223rd battalions played a crucial role in their surrender, he said.
The official said the surrendered Naxalites were provided Rs 25,000 each and will be further rehabilitated as per the government's policy.
Last year, 792 Naxalites had surrendered in the Bastar region, comprising seven districts, including Sukma.