All arrested can’t be guilty: Deve Gowda

Bengaluru, Aug. 13: Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda on Thursday said only those really guilty should be punished for the violence in parts of the city on August 11, as he asked the Congress and BJP not to indulge in a political blamegame on the issue.

Expressing sadness over the attack on Pulakeshi Nagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy’s residence, the JD(S) patriarch also said the government should take action to get justice for him and give him compensation for the losses. “The attack on Pulakeshi Nagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy’s residence is unfortunate and such incidents should not occur in any part of the country.

Police have arrested about 140 people in connection with rioting, but how many among them are real culprits?” Gowda was quoted as saying by his office in a release. He said, “all of them (arrested) cannot be culprits.

Only those who are really guilty should be held responsible for the incident and merciless action should be taken against them. Innocents should not be punished, this is my request to the police.”

Three persons were killed after police opened fire to quell a mob that went on a rampage in a city locality on Tuesday night over a purportedly inflammatory social media post allegedly put out by the Congress legislator Murthy's relative.

Urging the government to take action against those guilty, he said, burning down houses, cars and looting the properties related to an MLA was unheard of in the state.