BENGALURU: Unidentified miscreants set ablaze two cars parked at Bommanahalli BJP MLA Satish Reddy’s residence in Hongasandra in the wee hours of Thursday. While the MLA suspected it to be the handiwork of outsiders to “send a message”, the police are probing multiple angles, and have detained two people.
On Wednesday evening, Satish Reddy had intervened in the ongoing row over unveiling of a Lord Shiva statue at a man-made island in Begur Lake. The police are investigating whether the attack is linked to this issue.
“I had solved the issue amicably by convincing the agitators that the matter was in court. It could also be a reason for the incident, but I do not want to stick to that theory as there could be other motives too,” Reddy said.
He said he initially thought it was an accidental fire, but CCTV footage revealed it was a planned act. The miscreants committed the act during the night curfew, hoodwinking the police personnel and a watchman guarding the residence at the front gate.
Cops probing personal, political rivalries
The police said the accused entered the premises of the MLA’s residence by jumping over the compound wall at 1.23 am. After pouring petrol on two SUVs, they set the vehicles afire at 1.27 am and escaped through the same route they had come.
Speaking to reporters, Reddy said they woke up to the sound of a tyre burst at 1.32 am and came out to find the two vehicles burning. “I called the police staff and the watchman and we tried to douse the fire by pouring water and sand. As we could not put out the fire completely and the vehicles were almost gutting, we alerted the Fire and Emergency Services, who rushed to the scene and doused the fire completely.”
City Police Commissioner Kamal Pant and other senior officers visited the MLA’s residence around 4.30 am and gathered details from him. While the police are probing various angles, including personal and political rivalry, MLA Reddy refused to give political colour to the incident and termed it as a cowardly act. “I have friends in all political parties and I have no political rivalry. I feel the miscreants just wanted to send some message, like they can do anything at anyone’s place,” he said.
The incident was caught on the CCTV camera installed at the MLA’s residence. The faces of the three miscreants are not visible, but the police got hold of two footages wherein they are seen at a petrol pump around 10 pm on Tuesday.