Sixteen people have been arrested in connection with a death threat received by the state Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah, police said on Saturday.
“A total of 16 people have been arrested in Kodagu in connection with the death threat calls to LoP Siddaramaiah, 9 people have been arrested in Kushalnagar and 7 in Madikeri, all of whom will be produced before the magistrate court,” said the Kodagu Superintendent Capt Aiyappa MA.
The arrests come after the Congress leader claimed that he had received death threats over his remarks on Veer Savarkar. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai had earlier ordered a probe into the matter. He said that the government had taken this issue very seriously and promised a thorough probe into it.
“We have taken this issue seriously. I had also called the Director General of Police and spoke to him. Police will probe the matter. I have given instruction to provide adequate security to the Leader of the Opposition. No one should make such statements that will instigate the minds of others,” Bommai told reporters. Earlier, Siddaramaiah, a former chief minister, faced a stiff protest by BJP workers during his visit to Kodagu. BJP workers chanted slogans and displayed a black flag at General Thimmaiah’s circle. The former CM had gone to visit rain-affected areas of Madenadu and Koyanadu.
The protests were made over a remark made by the Congress leader about Sangh icon Veer Savarkar. Congress had claimed that eggs were thrown at Siddaramaiah’s car during the ‘gherao’ protest by the BJP workers. Congress workers had also staged a protest demanding the arrest of the person who threw eggs at the car. Condemning the incident, Siddaramaiah alleged that the BJP hired people to protest against him. He even warned the BJP stating that they will “teach them a lesson” after Congress comes back to power in the next year’s assembly elections.
