The State government on Wednesday maintained that “nobody is above the law” and MLA for Kampli J.N. Ganesh, who has been charged with attempt to murder and assault of Vijayanagar MLA Anand Singh, will be arrested soon.
The police are on the lookout for Mr. Ganesh, who is said to be untraceable, after his brawl in a private resort on the outskirts of the city resulted in Mr. Singh being admitted to a hospital. All Congress MLAs were herded together to the resort to prevent them from the BJP’s alleged poaching bid to topple the coalition government last Friday. Mr. Singh was admitted to the hospital on Sunday morning and has been receiving treatment since.
Addressing presspersons here, Home Minister M.B. Patil said that Mr. Ganesh has been suspended from the party and he would “not be spared” and would be arrested at the earliest.
Replying to questions on the delay in the arrest of the legislator, Mr. Patil said: “Delay in arrest does not mean that police are sitting quiet...I want to make it clear that there is no interference by anyone.” Mr. Patil said that Congress was, in fact, “instrumental” in registering an FIR and taking action against Mr. Ganesh after the assault on Mr. Singh.
Supporting Mr. Patil’s decision, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said that “the government has no intention of suppressing facts. No protection will be given by misusing power. Law will take its own course.”
‘New low’
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara termed the brawl at the resort as “one of the lowest level of politics” he had seen during his three decades of political career. He said the party has already constituted a committee comprising him, Ministers K.J. George and Krishna Byre Gowda to probe the matter and recommend action against Mr. Ganesh.
He said: “No one is above the law. An FIR has been lodged. The Congress has also taken disciplinary action by suspending him. The police are doing their duty and looking out.”
Search intensified
The Bidadi police have intensified the search for Mr. Ganesh. They have conducted spot inspection at the resort and have also questioned the staff and recorded their statement. The police are also verifying the CCTV footage to gather evidence. Three teams — in Ballari, Mysuru and Bengaluru — are searching for him. Sources said that he may have fled to Hyderabad. A team might visit after completing the search operations here, said a police source.
The police will take statement from Minister for Medical Education E. Tukaram, MLAs T. Raghumurthy from Challakere, S. Ramappa from Harihara, and Tanveer Sait from Narasimharaja constituencies. This is based on Mr. Singh’s statement that they were there during the time of the incident and tried to stop Mr. Ganesh from attacking him.
Meanwhile, sources in Apollo Hospital where Mr. Singh is admitted said that they would take a call on the need for an eye surgery once the swelling comes down.
‘Fight over local issues’
Mysuru Special Correspondent reports:
Mr. Byre Gowda on Wednesday dismissed speculations that the recent fight in the resort reflected the disenchantment among a section of Congress legislators. “It was purely a fight over personal and local issues,” he said and admitted that the incident was a matter of shame for the party which had been embarrassed by it.
