BENGALURU: The brutal murder of S Kadiresh, husband of Chalavadipalya ward corporator Rekha, has once again exposed the no-so-clean history of the city’s corporators. From 1990 till now, the city has seen at least 15 murders involving corporators or their spouses.
Many rowdies with money and muscle power have tried their luck in politics and have emerged successful by becoming elected representatives. However, most of them have found it difficult to leave behind their bloody past and a few have also met a tragic end.
Commenting on the trend, former Director General & Inspector General of Police S T Ramesh said,
“Criminilisation of politics started a few decades ago. Election to local bodies is the gateway to politics for rowdies. Once a history-sheeter becomes an elected representative, then it will get difficult for the police to handle him due to political pressure or some other reason. After getting elected, it’s not easy for anyone to involve in criminal activities. So, their associates will run the show, as they think they will be protected. However, many of them, after getting elected, involve in anti-social activities either directly or indirectly. Unfortunately, political parties are not ashamed to give tickets to people with criminal backgrounds to contest elections.”
Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, B B Ashok Kumar said the trend started when D Devaraj Urs was CM. “Notorious gangster Jairaj could not bear the torture by police and he entered politics. In the same period, politicians started deciding the postings of police officers. These factors made the rowdies think that police won’t touch them if they enter politics and that’s how politics became a shelter for rowdies. As far as murders of criminal-turned-politicians are concerned, I would say that they not reforming even after years led to their murders.”
“In most of the cases, the political ambitions of such representatives ends at creating their clout to safeguard themselves and improve their illegal businesses. In the process, they end up having more rivals. Then, incidents like murders on them will happen,” a serving police officer said.
Police officer-turned-politician Abdul Azeem, however, has a different take. “Everyone has the right to contest for elections. The government cannot wash its hands off saying he was killed because he was a rowdy. Be it a corporator or a rowdy, police should have information about their activities. If a corporator has criminal background, police have all the more reason to collect intelligence about his activities and his rivals. If police do their work properly, such incidents will not happen.”
Corporators and murder
In 1990, Rotti Manja, corporator of Agrahara Dasarahalli ward, was murdered. Councillors Lokesh, Dunde Gowda, Ramaiah, Narasimhamurthy and Muniappa also met a bloody end. In 1996, Azad Nagar corporator Venkatachala was killed by one of his followers, while Hombegowda ward corporator Shaila was allegedly killed by her boyfriend in 2001. In 2011, gangster-turned-JD(S) corporator Mohamad Ali was shot dead. Same year, Congress corporator of Gandhinagar ward, Nataraj, was hacked to death. C N Srinivas, BJP man and husband of Devasandra BBMP ward corporator R Manjula Devi, was hacked in 2014, while Umesh Belagodu, BJP man and husband of ex-BJP corporator of Pantaraplya Ward, Rajeshwari, was hacked to death in 2015. The latest case is that of ex-JD(S) corporator Govindegowda, who was hacked near Peenya last year.