Only those really guilty should be punished, says Deve Gowda

Bengaluru: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Thursday said only those really guilty should be punished for the violence in parts of the city on August 11, as he asked the Congress and BJP not to indulge in a political blamegame on the issue.

Expressing sadness over the attack on Pulakeshi Nagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthys residence, the JD(S) patriarch also said the government should take action to get justice for him and give him compensation for the losses.

"The attack on Pulakeshi Nagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthys residence is unfortunate and such incidents should not occur in any part of the country. Police have arrested about 140 people in connection with rioting, but how many among them are real culprits?" Gowda was quoted as saying by his office in a release.

He said, "all of them (arrested) cannot be culprits.

Only those who are really guilty should be held responsible for the incident and merciless action should be taken against them.Innocents should not be punished, this is my request to the police."

Three persons were killed after police opened fire to quell a mob that went on a rampage in a city locality on Tuesday night over a purportedly inflammatory social media post allegedly put out by the Congress legislator Murthy's relative. Urging the government to take merciless action against those really guilty, Gowda said, burning down houses, cars and looting the properties related to an MLA was unheard of in the state.

"Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy has not betrayed anyone, yes he was in our party earlier, that's a different matter. Government should take all necessary steps to get him justice. The loss that he has suffered, jewellery among other things.... he should be given compensation," he said.

Murthys residence and a police station at D J Halli were among those targeted by the mob. The house of the MLA, who was not at home at the time, was allegedly set on fire.

Asking the BJP and Congress not to indulge in a political blamegame regarding the violence, Gowda said no one should speak according to their whims and fancies on such matters. Further stating that the JD(S) will begin its statewide agitation from Friday against the state government's "anti-farmer" laws and amendments to the land reforms act, among others, he said, the protests will be flagged off from Hassan, by following Covid-19 guidelines.