Belagavi: Police officials seem to be going soft on MLA Raju Kage and his family who continue to remain elusive since an FIR was filed against them for attacking a resident of Kagwad Vivek Shetty on Monday.
Though the attack occurred on January 1 and the news had spread in Kagwad and Athani regions, none of the police officials attempted to file a case against the MLA until a news channel exposed it on January 8.
Sources said that Mr Kage has attacked four people in Kagwad region in the past, but has been allowed to go scot-free. “The attack on Shetty would have been hushed up again if not for an expose by the news channel. Even now, there is a lot of pressure on the police to bury the case,” they alleged.
SP Ravikanthe Gowda, however, said that the police were not under any pressure, and pointed out that two raids were conducted by the police on Wednesday on two separate locations in an attempt to trace the absconding MLA.
Several Congress leaders, including Veerkumar Patil, Vasantrao Patil, Mohan Shah and Kiran Patil, have said that the MLA has created an atmosphere of fear in Kagwad by resorting to goondaism.
Mr Ravikanthe Gowda said that the MLA may have involved in similar cases in the past, but no police cases were filed.
Police officials in Kagwad refused to give any information on the alleged criminal past of the MLA. Sources said that some supporters of Mr Kage had threatened the family of the victim, Shetty, not to approach the police after the attack.
