Special treatment to Sasikala; Not yet briefed on inquiry committee report, says HM M.B. Patil
Bengaluru, Jan 23: Karnataka Home Minister MB Patil Friday said he was yet to be briefed on the report of an enquiry committee that went into charges of preferential treatment to ousted AIADMK leader V K Sasikala at the prison here and would take action after discussions with department officials.
Patil, who took over as Home Minister after the cabinet rejig on December 22, asserted that nobody was above the law and there was no need to protect anybody.
"It has come to my notice through media reports about RTI. Nobody is above the law..." he told reporters here.
"There was inquiry. I'm holding discussions.Officially I'm yet to be briefed on it. I cannot act on media reports.
I have taken cognizance of media reports. I will discuss with our department officials and whatever is needed will be done. What is the need to protect anybody," he added.
An RTI query revealed that Sasikala was given special treatment in a prison here, where she is serving imprisonment in a corruption case, according to the report by an inquiry committee that went into the allegations by a senior police official.
The 295-page report by retired IAS officer Vinay Kumar confirmed that the then DIG (Prisons) D Roopa's claims in July 2017 that Sasikala was given preferential treatment and a separate kitchen functioned for her at the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail here, RTI activist Narasimha Murthy had recently said.
Kumar had submitted his report to the government on November 17, 2017, but its contents were not made public.
Asked if action would be taken based on the report, Patil said "definitely. I have not been officially briefed about it.
I have to ascertain about it as the Home Minister and will act accordingly."
Sasikala is lodged at Parappana Agrahara central prison here ever since her conviction by the Supreme Court in February 2017 in the disproportionate assets case, along with her two relatives V N Sudhakaran and Elavarasi, all serving a 4-year jail term.
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Rahul appeals to people of Delhi's Uttam Nagar to maintain peace; accuses BJP of fanning violence
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the people of Uttam Nagar do not want any bloodshed as they have already paid a heavy price for violence and urged the people of Delhi not to fall for any provocation as the country's strength lies in its unity and brotherhood.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi alleged that the BJP and its ecosystem want bloodshed to continue and seize every opportunity of fanning violence and spreading hatred in society.
"The people of Uttam Nagar have paid a heavy price for the violence - on one side, a young man, Tarun, lost his life, and on the other, an entire family is facing persecution. They don't want any more bloodshed.
"Bloodshed is what only the BJP and its ecosystem desires, which seizes every opportunity to fan violence and hatred," the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
"They want the country to remain entangled in Hindu-Muslim tension, so that people cannot ask why the prime minister is being forced to hand over the country's defense, energy security, food security, and strategic sovereignty to America - and that's why, in broad daylight, riot-like conditions are once again being created in the nation's capital," he claimed.
"An appeal to the residents of Delhi: Do not fall for any provocation - the strength of the country lies in our unity, brotherhood, and love. Jodo, jodo, Bharat Jodo..." the Congress leader said in his post.
Tension and violence has gripped Uttam Nagar in north Delhi, after 26-year-old Tarun was killed on March 4, following a clash between his family and their neighbours in the JJ Colony area after a girl from Tarun's family threw a balloon, splashing a woman from the neighbour's family during Holi celebrations.
Some Hindu outfits later staged a protest against the killing and torched two vehicles of the accused family members. The police have stepped up security and made heavy deployment in the affected areas to avoid any more violent incident ahead of the Eid celebrations.
