Booked for attempt to murder and absconding for four days now, suspended Karnataka Congress MLA JN Ganesh from Kampli in Ballari district has now claimed that he was attacked first in a social media post. He claimed the brawl to be a result of provocation by Anand Singh.
In his post on Facebook addressed to his voters, Ganesh claimed the brawl was a result of provocation by Anand Singh and the entire episode was a conspiracy engineered by Singh and his nephew Sandeep to malign his reputation.
“He abused my community and kicked me on my chest... He went on to abuse me and asked me to lead him to Naik’s room. I was forced to take him there, where he demanded an apology from Naik for abusing him in the CLP meeting and tried to assault him. When I interfered, he twisted my thumb and hit me on my back with a bed lamp. I had no other choice but to react. Party seniors know this,” he wrote on his post.
In the same post he wrote, “Singh took me to his room and accused me of supporting E. Tukaram for a ministerial berth and began to abuse me, and also kicked me. Then I left for my room. Singh followed me and took me to the Hagari Bommanahalli MLA, Bheema Naik, and began beating me again. He also twisted my fingers, which led to a fracture. I also retaliated.”
He also claimed that there is a threat to his life but he has not filed any counter complaint.
In a loss of face for the Congress, the Kampi MLA was booked for attempt to murder for assaulting his party colleague and Vijayanagara MLA Anand Singh in a drunken brawl at the posh Eagleton resort on January 19. As a result, Anand Singh is currently in hospital for treatment and is set to undergo an eye surgery.
The Congress leadership had taken its MLAs to the resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru after two independents withdrew support for the government and four Congress MLAs skipped the legislature party meet.
Ganesh has been booked under sections 323 (Voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 307 (Attempt to murder), 504 (intentional insult to breach peace) and 506 (Criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to Anand Singh’s statement to the police, if Ganesh had his own way, he would have shot Anand Singh dead with his gunman’s weapon.