MANGALURU: BJP MLA Bharat Shetty on Thursday said the mob lynching incident in Kudupu may have been an accidental attack triggered by the current anti-Pakistan atmosphere in the country.
He claimed the situation might have escalated due to anger against pro-Pakistan slogans and dismissed suggestions that the attack was planned.
Addressing a press conference in Mangaluru, Bharat Shetty said, "There is a pro-war atmosphere against Pakistan after the terror attack in our country. But the sleeper cells and terror sympathisers are attacking those who burn Pakistan flags in our country."
"At Kudupu, as per the information available, the person had raised pro-Pakistan slogans and the people present there were genuinely angered hence the situation might have gone out of control. It was an accidental death, not a planned murder as it is being portrayed by some parties. Congress and the SDPI are giving a political colour to the incident. District Congress president Harish Kumar has gone one step further and blamed a person named Ravindra Nayak responsible for the attack," he said.
"The cricket tournament was not organised by any political party. Both BJP and Congress leaders were invited. Those who were present were all cricketers. A crime has taken place and we must take it only as a criminal activity. But the police officials have pressure from their higher-ups and there is an attempt to fix BJP and Sangh Parivar activists falsely in the case. Police must be given a free hand to probe the case," he demanded.
He further said it was being claimed that the deceased was mentally ill, and argued that “those who raise pro-Pakistan slogans are all mentally ill and the number of persons with that mindset is increasing in the country. We will stand by those innocents who are being fixed in the case and we have to gherao the police station if innocent persons are fixed."
Responding to allegations that he was protecting Ravindra Naik, the husband of a BJP corporator who is allegedly involved in the case, Shetty denied the claim. He also insisted that religion was not a factor in the murder. "His identity was revealed two days after the crime. He was not murdered just because he was a Muslim. Police have mishandled the case," he alleged.
