Ballari violence: Gunman linked to Cong MLA’s aide arrested for killing party worker

Bengaluru, Jan 4 (IANS) The police in Karnataka have arrested a gunman linked to an aide of Congress MLA Nara Bharat Reddy in connection with the shootout in which a Congress party worker was killed, an official said on Sunday.

The development is likely to trigger major controversy, as the firing occurred during a clash over a banner installation issue between supporters of MLA Bharat Reddy and mining baron and BJP MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy.

Police confirmed that they have arrested Gurucharan Singh, a private gunman of Satish Reddy, a close associate of Ballari city Congress MLA Bharat Reddy.

It has been established that Congress worker Rajashekar died after being hit by a bullet fired by Gurucharan Singh during the clash. Following this confirmation, the police initially took him into custody and later formally arrested him.

Police said the 12 mm bullet was fired from a distance of four to five feet, which is why only one person lost his life. Had the shot been fired from a distance of more than 10 feet, the bullet could have spread, potentially resulting in further casualties.

So far, the police have taken 45 persons into custody for questioning and later arrested a total of 26 persons, including 13 BJP workers.

A total of nine gunmen have been taken into custody, including four gunmen of Satish Reddy, one government gunman of MLA Bharat Reddy identified as Basavaraj, four government gunmen of MLA Janardhana Reddy, and a gunman attached to former minister B. Sriramulu. Among them, only Satish Reddy’s gunman Gurucharan Singh has been formally arrested so far.

Medical examinations have been conducted on all those arrested, police said.

Police have confirmed that the bullet which struck Rajashekar was a 12 mm single-bore bullet. In connection with the case, Ballari police have seized five firearms.

In the aftermath of the Ballari violence, mining baron and BJP MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy has written separate letters to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Home Minister G. Parameshwara and Director General of Police Dr M.A. Saleem, seeking ‘Z’ category security for himself and his family.

In the letters, he also demanded the arrest of MLA Bharat Reddy and Satish Reddy and sought action against police officers for allegedly failing to control the situation. He stated that if security is not provided and any attack occurs on him or his family in the future, the state government should be held responsible.

However, Home Minister G. Parameshwara said on Sunday that he has not received any such letter so far.

He added that the firing did not involve police-issued guns or revolvers, a fact confirmed by the Additional Director General of Police.

Parameshwara stated that the firing was carried out using a private firearm and said the government is considering handing over the investigation into the death of Congress worker Rajashekar to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

“I will discuss this with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and if necessary, we will hand over the case to the CID for investigation,” Parameshwara said.

mka/pgh