BENGALURU: State BJP leaders on Monday sought Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s intervention to revoke the cabinet decision to withdraw cases against the accused in the Hubballi rioting case in 2022. They staged a protest in the city and submitted a memorandum to the governor.
In the memorandum, the BJP leaders pointed out that the cabinet had decided to withdraw 60 cases, including against the accused in Hubballi violence, where a violent mob laid siege to the Old Hubballi police station, damaged police vehicles and temples near the station. The mob also threw stones injuring several police personnel. Hubballi-Dharwad police had arrested 150 people and filed cases against some of them under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
“By withdrawing the cases against those miscreants, the government has disregarded the serious nature of violence, which involved attacks on police personnel and public property,” it stated.
No less than acts of terrorism: BJP
The memorandum signed by BJP state president BY Vijayendra and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka stated that political pressure on the Congress government might have played a pivotal role in the decision to withdraw the cases. This decision can be seen as another instance of the Congress government favouring certain communities at
the cost of justice. Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president DK Shivakumar had personally written to the government requesting it to drop the cases, it said.
The decision would be a setback to the police department as several personnel were seriously injured in the violence. High-ranking police officers have reportedly expressed concerns over the decision. “The Hubballi incidents were no less than acts of terrorism. While the police and judiciary were against dropping those cases, the government has gone against them,’’ the memorandum said.