DK serial murders: Siddaramaiah demands home minister Jnanendra's resignation

Bengaluru: Opposition leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah demanded the resignation of state Home Minister Araga Jananendra for his failure to maintain peace and order in the wake of the ongoing serial murders in Dakshina Kannada district.

In a series of tweets, Siddaramaiah accused that the law and order situation “completely collapsed” in Karnataka. “After the murders of Masood and Praveen Nettaru in Sullia, the murder of another young man named Fazeel in Suratkal today is proof that peace and order in the state has completely collapsed,” he alleged.

The Congress leader further said, “The incompetent Home Minister seems to have no control over the police department. Because of this, the perpetrators have continued the carnage in a frenzy. If the Chief Minister does not remove Home Minister Araga Gyanendra immediately, it may be difficult for people to come out of their homes in the state.”

He held the actions of  Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai indirectly responsible for the continued killings. “The chief minister @BSBommai who did not condemn the serial killings of Dakshina Kannada, did not arrest the perpetrators and put them in jail, but justified their misdeeds as action-reaction, is responsible for this. The killing that took place while he was still in the district is a slap in the face,” he wrote.

He also accused the BJP government in the state of “calculating political gains” from these murders. “It is very unfortunate that the state BJP government, which should trace and jail the thugs irrespective of their party, creed, caste, and religion, is calculating the political gain from the murders,” he said in another tweet.

“No matter how influential the culprits are, they should be hanged and put in jail,” he said and accused the state government was harassing innocents to cover up its failures in the face of public anger, and “it can’t be tolerated.”