Cong smells political conspiracy behind cow theft at gaushala ahead of polls

Mangaluru, Apr 10: Even as a the protest by the members of Amruthadhara Gaushala at Kairangala on the outskirts of the city over the alleged cow theft took a political turn, the Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee has suspected that theft may have been staged by some political forces ahead of May 12 Karnataka assembly polls.

On Monday, a delegation from the Congress submitted a memorandum to T R Suresh, commissioner of police, seeking speedy investigation into the case. The members also sought thorough analysis of the CCTV cameras installed at the gaushala and demanded that the watchman of the facility be subjected to Narco analysis test.

Addressing the media, A C Vinayaraj, president, Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee Legal and Human Rights Department, said as the hunger strike began within 48 hours of the theft and continued even after the arrest of the two accused, it gives rise to suspicion that the move has been backed by the BJP for political gains as the polls are fast approaching.

While maintaining Gaushala owner Rajaram Bhat has the right to stage a protest and the Congress had no qualms with it, Vinayaraj questioned the grounds on which he provided the platform to RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat and MP Nalin Kumar Kateel to deliver communally provocative and politically motivated speeches.

Vinayaraj also questioned why the watchman, who allegedly fought the gang of thieves, did not call anyone for help, did not click their pictures or why he was not helping the police bringing out their sketches.

Stressing that Rajaram Bhat had been saying the two accused caught by the police were not the culprits, Vinayaraj wondered how the people from the gaushala could be so sure about their claim. “How does Rajaram Bhat know the arrested aren’t the culprits? Moreover, why didn’t the watchman help the police in bringing out rough sketches of the culprits,” he questioned, adding all angles of the case give enough scope for suspicion that the theft is politically motivated.

Meanwhile, Rajaram Bhat ended his indefinite fast on Monday, the ninth day. The end came after the police personally informed Bhat and others involved in the protest demonstration that two accused have been arrested and that the police also know about the whereabouts of the main accused.