Karnataka   

Associate of JD(S) leader beaten up

TUMKUR: The assault on an associate of a Janata Dal (Secular) leader by supporters of another leader and the protest that followed marked the filing of the nominations in Tumkur district on the second day on Thursday.

Supporters of B. Nanjamari, former MLA and Janata Dal (S) leader allegedly assaulted an associate of G. Anandaravi, Tumkur Zilla Panchayat member and the party leader, at Belalgarahalli, near Tiptur, the native village of Mr. Nanjamari.

The assault triggered a protest by supporters of Mr. Anandaravi.

They blocked traffic on the Bangalore-Honnavar National Highway at the Tiptur City Municipal Council office at Tiptur.

Earlier, both Mr. Nanjamari and Mr. Anandaravi filed their nomination papers for the Tiptur Assembly seat. They were among the four candidates who filed their nominations in the district on Thursday.

The police said G.S. Girish, also a Janata Dal (S) leader and an associate of Mr. Anandaravi, was returning to his village, Gungurumale, in the evening. As he approached Belagarahalli, supporters of Mr. Nanjamari allegedly dragged him out of the vehicle and attacked him.

He was reportedly beaten up by a group of over 15 persons.

Mr. Girish, who suffered multiple fractures, was brought to the Tiptur Hospital. Mr. Anandaravi and his supporters, who visited him at the hospital, began blocking traffic on the national highway.

Mr. Anandaravi said the assault was aimed at intimidating him to withdraw his nomination. “I hate violence in politics. I will fight it out democratically,” he said and declared that he would contest the election either as JD(S) candidate or Independent.

Mr. Nanjamari claimed that he was the “natural choice” of his party, and said: “I am the Janata Dal (S) official candidate.”

The Janata Dal (S) is still to announce the names of its official nominees.

The filing of nominations by both Mr. Nanjamari and Mr. Anandaravi caused unrest among the party workers in Tiptur taluk.

The police said the protest was peaceful.

The police were, however, yet to register a case of assault on Mr. Girish.

Sources in the hospital said Mr. Girish would be referred to a hospital at Bangalore for special treatment.

In all, four persons filed their nominations in the district on the second day of the filing of nominations.

Besides Mr. Nanjamari and Mr. Anandaravi, two others who filed their nominations were G.R. Nagaraju, Independent candidate from Tumkur Rural Assembly segment and M.C. Rajanna, BJP leader, from the Kunigal Assembly constituency.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is yet to finalise its nominee for the Kunigal seat.

On the first day, two nominations, one each in Kunigal and Madhugiri, were received and that was marked by the assault on the Returning Officer at Gubbi by BJP leader Vijaykumar.

The officer had to be hospitalised and the Deputy Commissioner had ordered the arrest of the BJP leader

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