After his arrest on Tuesday night, Karnataka MLA DK Shivakumar was admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital in New Delhi as he complained of uneasiness. Youth Congress President Srinivas BV, on Wednesday, alleged that Shivakumar’s health deteriorated because of the harassment that the Congress leader faced over the last few days.
“His health has deteriorated due to the harassment he has been subjected to. Doctors have advised him to rest but Enforcement Directorate (ED) is trying to take him away,” BV Srinivas, Youth Congress President told ANI after meeting Shivakumar at the RML hospital.
At around 9:45 pm on Tuesday, DK Shivkumar had complained of high BP and uneasiness. Though he is still admitted at the hospital, sources say that his health has improved and he will be produced before the court on Wednesday afternoon.
Srinivas added that Shivakumar's blood pressure had shot up following his arrest. Shivakumar was arrested in connection with a Rs 8.83 crore money laundering case on Tuesday.
Following his arrest, protests erupted in Ramanagara and Kanakapura towns in Ramanagara district. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Tuesday night suspended its service through Ramanagara and Kanakapura towns in the state's southern region after miscreants stoned and damaged four buses in protest.
"We have suspended the service for the night in Ramanagara and Kanakapura on the Bengaluru-Mysuru route after protesters turned unruly and damaged four of our route buses by stoning their glass panes in both towns. Passengers were evacuated quickly to prevent injury," a KSRTC official said.
Hundreds of party cadres and supporters of Shivakumar staged angry protests and blocked vehicular traffic on the busy Bengaluru-Mysuru state highway and condemned the ruling BJP in the state and at the Centre for the alleged misuse of the investigation agencies against the opposition leaders.
"The service will remain suspended till normalcy is restored and the police ensure the safety of the passengers and security of our buses and staff," asserted the official.
Meanwhile, the police have stepped up security at bus terminals, railway stations and at vital installations across the city to prevent any untoward incident from angry protesters and supporters of Shivakumar.
"We have deployed one platoon of armed police at the ED's zonal office in the city central as a precautionary measure to prevent any attack on it or its staff by protestors or mobs," a police official said.
Shivakumar, 57, represents the Kanakapura Assembly segment, about 60km southwest from Bengaluru. His younger brother D.K. Suresh is the Lok Sabha member from the Bangalore Rural constituency and the party's lone winner in the recent parliamentary elections from the state.
Congress leaders and workers will stage statewide protests in their district headquarters on Wednesday against the arrest of DK Shivakumar.
With IANS inputs