‘We know how to handle... wait for a few days...’: Bommai on Dakshina Kannada murders

Bengaluru, July 29: Strongly defending his government’s way of handling situation in coastal Karnataka, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai today said that special measures will be taken to clamp down on anti-social forces in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

Mr Bommai, who decided not to visit families of Muslim victims during his Dakshina Kannada trip yesterday, told reporters today that the government has taken all three murder cases -- Mohammed Masood, Praveen Nettaru, and Mohammed Fazil -- seriously. 

“The life of every citizen is important,” claimed the CM, who had wept after visiting Praveen’s family yesterday and refrained from visiting the families of Masood and Fazil.

The three murders have not only exposed communal fault lines in Dakshina Kannada, but also have exposed the communal mindset of the government. 

“I am meeting the director-general and other senior police officers to take stock of what we can do in the coastal areas of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi,” he said. “We will take some decisions for the two districts based on suggestions given by officials,” he added.
Bommai said miscreants are entering Karnataka from Kerala. “There are 55 roads from the Kerala border. We will take discuss how they need to be managed,” he said.

Hitting back at Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah for criticising the government, Bommai said, “When Siddaramaiah was there (as CM), there were 32 killings. What was he doing? It’s not right to do politics in everything.”

Ruling out the resignation of Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, Bommai said his government knows how to handle the situation.

“In the first murder case (Masood), we’ve arrested the accused. In other cases also, action will be taken,” he said.

Blaming the SDPI and PFI, Bommai said the previous Congress government allowed the two outfits to grow by withdrawing more than 200 cases against their workers. “They even attacked Congress MLA Tanveer Sait,” Bommai said. “Now, they’re doing their thing again.”

According to Bommai, there’s more to these murders. “This is an organised crime. These things shouldn’t happen. But, the anti-social forces are being given some encouragement, even political. They’re coming from across the Kerala border,” he said. “Wait for a few days and you’ll see the action.”