I too received threat call: K S Eshwarappa

Bengaluru: Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council K.S. Eshwarappa made a startling revelation that he received a threatening call on his mobile phone on Sunday night threatening him with dire consequences if he continued to discuss the beef issue and the Madikeri incident related to Tipu Jayanti.

Soon after the House assembled, the BJP leader said he got a missed call reportedly from an Internet number 1669897 at around 9.33 pm while he was coming to Bengaluru from Shivamogga by train. The caller did not receive the call when he called back. Again around 10:40 pm, the Internet call came from the same number. After receiving the call, the caller at the other end abused him in Kannada mixed with Urdu and threatened him.

Mr Eshwarappa reportedly told the caller that he could not be threatened by anyone and he would continue to raise these issues in the House. "I have informed the House about the incident but I have not registered a police complaint in this regard."

Both ruling and Opposition party members in unison condemned the alleged threat against Mr Eshwarappa. Senior Congress member, V.S. Ugrappa demanded a probe by any central agency. Mr K.B. Shanappa, Capt. Ganesh Karnik, Mr Kota Shrinivasa Poojary and others too spoke.

Council chairman D.H. Shankarmurthy directed the government to provide additional security to Mr Eshwarappa and also conduct a detailed probe into the threat call. Recently, minister for sports and fisheries, Mr Abhay Chandra Jain too had reportedly received a threat call from an underworld don and security was beefed up for him.

Government to seek Raw, IB  help

Home minister Dr G. Parameshwar said the state government would seek the assistance of RAW and IB to trace the origin of the threat call made to leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council K.S. Eshwarappa. The home minister said it was a serious issue as three ministers had received calls through the Internet recently. “Our government is fully committed to ensure the safety and security of the Opposition leader. I have already received a letter from Mr Eshwarappa,” he said, and added, “We will take steps to check such calls in future.”

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