Bengaluru: Anekal a hotbed for political murders?

Bengaluru: A quiet village just a few years ago, with the majority of its population indulging in farming, Anekal, since the IT revolution in Bengaluru, has been growing at a tearing pace. The real estate prices have hit the roof, and the town, which is 32 km from Bengaluru, has seen a spurt in criminal and political activities too.

Over the last few months, Anekal has been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons. It has seen frequent killings of political leaders and gang wars. But despite increasing number of criminal incidents, law enforcement authorities seem to be looking the other way, even as three BJP leaders were attacked and killed.

The supporters of the deceased leaders vandalised the houses of the alleged accused, and set them on fire to avenge their leaders’ deaths. But it all happened even before the police even got to know of the incidents, though the police stations are not far from where the incidents occurred.

In all the three murders of BJP members, the accused were their own relatives and the reason for the murders was personal. The mobs, which vandalised and set the houses of accused on fire, too were relatives of the accused and the deceased, a senior police official tried to justify.

“The murders of BJP members were never for political reasons, but the party tried to give them a political colour. The murders of all the three, including that of BJP block SC/ST cell vice-president Harish on Thursday, were over old rivalry,” the police said.

Harish’s is the third murder of a BJP man in Anekal taluk over the last one year. In June 2016, the vice-president of Nergi Gram Panchayat, Ashwath, was murdered in Sarjapura police limits. On March 13, BJP member of Bommasandra Town Municipal Council and Dalit leader, Srinivas Prasad alias Kithaganahalli Vasu, was hacked to death.

With more than 70 per cent Dalit population, Anekal has remained a reserved constituency for the last 45 years.  Even mere association with a political party as a worker means a lot for the people here as they feel they would have a political clout and could get their work done, a political leader, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “Anekal taluk has always been a game-changer when it comes to voting. More than the top leaders, it is those who work on the ground who have more influence. As only limited posts are available in each party, infighting among relatives and friends has increased over the years,” he said.

‘Not party vs party, its people vs people’
The BJP’s attempts to give the three murders a political colour and to stick the blame on the Congress have failed as police investigation has proved that the killings were for personal reasons and that the accused were either their family members or from the same political party.

“Anekal is just like any other region. Neither the criminal activities have increased nor can we say that they have come down. But to label these murders as politically motivated is completely wrong as it has not been proved so far,” said Mr Amit Singh, SP, Bengaluru Rural.

Mob can be mobilised in a jiffy
As the majority of the people are from the same community, the town residents say that people can be mobilised within minutes and passions can be whipped up to indulge in unlawful activities.

“When it comes to party affiliations, they don’t hesitate to attack their own community members, and that is what is happening here,” they said.

No failure in law and order
Bengaluru Rural DySP Umesh said that that law and order has not failed in the taluk. “The police keep a constant watch on rowdies and their activities. We get to know immediately if they are planning any anti-social activities. But mob attacks are difficult to foresee as relatives and friends attack in a flash and disappear, even before we come to know of it,” Mr Umesh said. But vigil is maintained at vulnerable places and attempts are being made to prevent such incidents.