Karnataka hands over New Year Day Ballari clash case to CID

The Karnataka Government has transferred four cases in connection with the January 1 violent clashes that occurred in Ballari to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) unit of the state police. Clashes broke out outside the house of BJP MLA G Janardhan Reddy, over a banner dispute during a Valmiki community event, which resulted in the death of a Congress worker in a firing during the incident.

Karnataka police chief Dr M A Saleem on Friday ordered the transfer of the cases registered at Brucepet police station “to CID for further investigation with immediate effect”. The cases were registered based on the complaints by the relatives of the deceased worker Rajashekhar Reddy, local Congress leaders, the local police, and BJP MLA Janardhan Reddy.

“The Director General of Police, CID, Special Units and Economic Offences, Bengaluru, may please arrange to take up further investigation. After the completion of the investigation of the case, a detailed report may be sent to this office,” read the order by the state police chief.

In response to the development, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Saturday, “Let an investigation be done and let the truth come out”.

Rajashekhar Reddy, 28, was killed in the January 1 firing that occurred near the house of G Janardhan Reddy, the BJP MLA for the Gangavathi region, after Congress and BJP supporters clashed over a Valmiki statue inauguration banner, outside the BJP MLA’s house in the Havamabhavi area of Ballari city.

Based on medical evidence and the post-mortem report, senior police officers have indicated that the Congress worker was hit by a bullet from a private gun.

The police have arrested Gursharan Singh, an armed bodyguard of a local Congress leader, Sathish Reddy, as he was seen wielding a shotgun and firing in videos of the clashes. As many as 35 others have also been arrested for the clashes.

According to preliminary investigations, there were three separate incidents of clashes that occurred on January 1 outside the house of Janardhan Reddy, which escalated over a period of around six hours.

The first incident is reported to have occurred in the early evening hours of January 1, when Congress workers reportedly put up a banner outside Janardhan Reddy’s house to announce the January 3 inauguration of a Valmiki statue at the city centre in Ballari.

Subsequently, it was reportedly removed by workers at the BJP MLA’s house, which resulted in a second incident of clash in the evening, when Sathish Reddy — who is allied with Congress MLA of Ballari, Nara Bharath Reddy — arrived with his supporters and demanded that the banner be reinstalled.

As the second incident escalated with stone pelting and scuffling, Sathish Reddy’s bodyguard is reported to have fired his personal weapon, and the bullet from it struck Congress worker Rajashekhar Reddy.

A third incident is reported to have occurred later in the night with the arrival of the Congress MLA Bharath Reddy to the scene after reports spread of the death of a Congress worker.

Saint Valmiki is revered by the Valmiki Nayak Scheduled Tribe, who make up a large chunk of the population of Ballari, and are tapped by all political parties for electoral gain in the impoverished district.

Rajashekhar Reddy’s younger brother filed a police complaint naming Janardhan Reddy, his close aide – MLA B Sriramulu, his brother Somashekhar Reddy, and others as being responsible for the death. The Arms Act has been invoked in the case. Meanwhile, Chanal Shekhar, a Congress worker, has filed a similar complaint to that of the victim’s family. A deputy superintendent of police for the Ballari region has filed a third complaint naming Janardhan Reddy, his brother Somashekhar Reddy, close friend Sriramulu, and also the Congress leader Sathish Reddy for the clashes.

However, Janardhan Reddy, in his complaint, has stated that he was enroute to Ballari from Gangavathi when the trouble erupted and has claimed that a bullet fired at him by a Congress leader in the second incident had hit a Congress worker. Reddy has accused Congress MLA Bharath Reddy, his associate Sathish Reddy, and others of attempting to storm his house and attack him over the banner incident.

The police have taken five firearms belonging to the private bodyguards of politicians for forensic examination. They are yet to ascertain whether the bullet that killed Rajashekar Reddy was intended to cause the death of the Congress worker in the clash.

Ballari BJP leader and former minister B Sriramulu had earlier demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe or judicial inquiry in the case. “The bullet was fired by Bharat Reddy’s gunman, and the government has tried to suppress the information. The police need to arrest Bharat Reddy,” Sriramulu said.

Local Congress leaders in Ballari, along with the district in-charge Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, visited Rajashekhar Reddy’s house and assured compensation for the family. Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar also visited Ballari last week, triggering suggestions from JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy of interference in the home ministry, which comes under the purview of Minister Parameshwara.

The Congress government has postponed the event for the installation of the Valmiki statue in Ballari, which was scheduled for January 3.