Karnataka Lokayukta P. Vishwanath Shetty was stabbed in his office on Wednesday afternoon. The assailant has been identified as one Tejas Sharma. He is said to be an advocate, based on his entry in the register at the Lokayukta’s office.
Sources said Sharma entered the office on the pretext of lodging a complaint. Five minutes later, the staff outside heard screams and when they rushed in, they found Mr. Shetty in a pool of blood after having been stabbed thrice. They rushed him to the nearby Mallya Hospital, whose doctors have confirmed to The Hindu that his condition is now stable.
Police have taken Sharma into custody. They are trying to ascertain the reason for the attack.
Tejas Sharma, who stabbed the Karnataka Lokayukta, being taken away by police in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Siddaramaiah, Cabinet colleagues visit hospital
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accompanied by his Cabinet colleagues Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy, City Development Minister K.J. George and Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil, and senior police officials visited the Lokayukta in hospital.
Outside the hospital, Mr. Siddaramaiah told journalists that the assailant seems to have entered Mr. Shetty’s chamber with an intention to kill. He had ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident, apart from directing the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police Neelamani N. Raju to ascertain whether there was any lapse in the security arrangement. “The gunman was outside the chamber when the assailant stabbed Mr. Shetty inside. The police have arrested him and investigation is on,” he said and added that the doctors told him that the Lokayukta was now out of danger.
Former Lokayukta Santhosh Hegde described the attack as an unfortunate incident. He termed it a security failure. “There’s a metal detector and the police are supposed to use a hand-held metal detector to frisk visitors. In this case, they have clearly not done it,” he said.
Indication of weak law and order system: Yeddyurappa
The BJP expressed shock over the attack and maintained that the episode was a testament to its stand that law and order in the State had collapsed. “The fact that a miscreant had the courage to attack the Lokayukta in his office is an indication of the weak law and order system,” BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa stated in a release.
He urged the government to act sternly against the miscreant so that it would be a warning to others against indulging in similar incidents.
BJP leader and former Home Minister R. Ashok demanded that President’s rule be imposed in Karnataka.
