Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has landed in controversy after he was caught on tape giving instructions to "shoot down mercilessly" the accused in the murder of a JD(S) worker who was hacked to death on Monday.
Kumaraswamy later defended his actions, saying the comments were made in a fit of rage.
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has landed in controversy after he was caught on tape giving instructions to "shoot down mercilessly" the accused in the murder of a JD(S) worker who was hacked to death on Monday.
In a video which has gone viral in social media, the Karnataka Chief Minister can be seen asking for the killers to ‘be shot mercilessly’.
The NewsMinute quoted him saying: “He was a good man. I don’t know who killed him and who killed him in this manner. Shoot them(the killers) mercilessly, there would be no issues.”
However, as the video went viral, the chief minister clarified that he had made the remarks in a fit of rage.
"I said it in that tension. Because as soon as I landed I was told there is this murder that has happened. Person named Prakash has been killed… it was a natural human reaction… it was not my order as a CM... it was in the fit of rage in that situation because those people (alleged killers) are those who killed two others earlier.. were in jail, came out on bail.. within two days killed him… this man was very good, was actively involved in so many works for the society,” News18 quoted Kumarasway as saying.
The JDS local leader Prakash was hacked to death today in Mandya. The men opened the car's back door, where Prakash was sitting and attacked him. Initial reports said Prakash was alive after the attack but succumbed to his injuries later.
"Prakash, 50, was attacked by four men with a machete on Monday evening due to suspected personal rivalries. He succumbed to his injuries," Maddur police station sub-inspector Kumara had told IANS.
According to reports, the assailants had followed Prakash on a motorcycle and attacked him with sharp weapons and an iron rod.
The incident prompted protests by party workers who blocked the Bengaluru-Mysuru and Bengaluru-Dindigul highways, alleging that political rivalry was behind the "murder".
(With inputs from agencies)