Bangalore: Stepping up pressure on the State Government to order a judicial inquiry into the communal riots in Mangalore leading to death of two persons and destruction of property, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Tuesday criticised the Government for entrusting only the killings to the Corps of Detectives (CoD) for investigation.

Addressing a press conference here, KPCC president M. Mallikarjun Kharge said only a judicial inquiry would throw light on the involvement, as alleged by the party, of the Bajrang Dal, the Sri Rama Sene and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the riots or even the role of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), as alleged by the BJP.

Referring to the allegation made by Vasant Bangera, president of the Dakshina Kannada unit of the Janata Dal (S), that Ports and Fisheries Minister B. Nagaraja Shetty was responsible for the riots, Mr. Kharge said if that was the case, the Government should be held responsible for the riots.

The fact-finding committee of the Congress, comprising the former Ministers Kagodu Thimmappa and Sagir Ahmed and L. Revanasiddaiah, which toured the riot-hit areas for two days, had reported widespread destruction of property and the alleged involvement of the Sangh Parivar in the riots. The committee members visited many houses, but no one they spoke to had alleged that SIMI was involved in the communal flare-up, Mr. Kharge maintained.

"How can the CoD inquiry fix responsibility on those who were responsible for the looting, arson and attacks on people during the riots by investigating only the murders of two persons reported in Mangalore East and Bantwal police limits," he asked.

All this indicated that the Government was not serious about punishing the guilty because the legislators and Ministers from the ruling coalition were involved in the incidents, Mr. Kharge charged.

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