Days after Congress worker killed in violence, Ballari gets new SP and IGP

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar with District In-charge Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan and officials during a meeting in connection with the Ballari riots on Tuesday. (Photo: ANI)

Days after violence over a banner claimed the life of a Congress worker in Ballari, the Karnataka Government has transferred Suman D Pennekar to the district as the superintendent of police. Pavan Nejjur, who had taken over the Ballari SP on the day of the violence, was suspended the next day.

According to a government order issued on Wednesday, Vartika Katiyar, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ballari range, has been transferred as a deputy inspector-general (DIG) of police in the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement. Senior IPS officer P S Harsha, who was awaiting a posting, is the new Ballari IGP. The new SP, Suman Pennekar, was a deputy commissioner of police (DCP) of the intelligence wing in Bengaluru city.

On January 1, violence erupted near the home of Gangavathi BJP MLA Gali Janardhan Reddy over the erection of a banner about the unveiling of a Valmiki statue. Congress worker Rajashekar Reddy was shot dead during the clash.

The police have questioned more than 26 people in connection with the violence. An officer said the bullet that killed Rajashekar Reddy had been fired from close range, but it was yet to be ascertained whether the bullet had been aimed at him or misfired.

BJP leader and former minister Sriramulu on Tuesday demanded that the Government either hand over the murder case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or order a judicial inquiry. He said that he would hold a padayatra to Bengaluru from Ballari. “The bullet was fired from Bharath Reddy’s gunman, and the Government has tried to suppress the information. The police need to arrest Bharath Reddy,” he added.

Nara Bharath Reddy is the Congress MLA for the Bellary City constituency.