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Three persons arrested in connection with assault on farmers’ leader Rakesh Singh Tikait have allegedly said that they assaulted him for not speaking in Kannada
On May 30, the accused — Bharath Shetty, the President of Bharatha Rakshana Vedike, Shivakumar and Pradeep posing as journalists entered Gandhi Bhavan where Tikait was holding a press conference.
One of the trio got on the stage on the pretext of adjusting a microphone and attacked Tikait with the mic while another one rushed there and threw ink on him. Later, the accused raised ‘Modi, Modi’ slogan before being arrested by the police.
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The accused had taken the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while carrying out the attack and while being taken away by the police. The investigating officers are seeing the development as a premeditated act. “The accused’s statement is misleading and they will be investigated further,” said police sources.
The police have taken the accused persons on a 6-day remand. The investigations have also revealed the past crime history of the accused persons.
According to police, Shivakumar Atri (52) who attacked Tikait is a murder convict and was released from the Hassan jail in 2015 for his good conduct
After the release, he was active in an organisation with his sister and took part in many protests. The police are investigating his involvement in other crimes.
Another accused Pradeep is a cab driver. He had poured black paint on Rakesh Tikait and others. The police have also launched a hunt for women who were seen with the accused during the event on that day. Police said that all of them have disappeared after the incident.
Tikait was attending a press conference on “Raita Chaluvali, Aatmavalokana haagu Spasteekarana Sabhe” (Farmer’s Movement, Introspection and Clarification Meeting) organized by Karnataka State Farmers Association and Hasiru Sene.
Congress has described the incident as a black mark on the state.