The State Government has decided to hand over the probe into the Chandru murder case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said.
“The truth should come out in the Chandru murder case. In this background it has been decided to hand over the case to the CID after conferring with the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police and the Bengaluru Police Commissioner. Let there be an impartial investigation and let the truth come out,” the Chief Minister said, speaking to media persons on Sunday.
A row had erupted between the ruling party and the Opposition over the case after Home Minister Araga Jnanendra’s statement that Chandru was murdered for failing to speak in Urdu, while the police, quoting the video-recorded statement of the prime witness, stated that the murder was due to road rage. The Home Minister later retracted his statement.
While the Opposition Congress demanded action against the Home Minister, ruling party MLC N. Ravikumar accused the city Police Commissioner of lying about the case.
The case took a twist after Simon Raj, the complainant, told the media that Chandru was stabbed because he was not speaking Urdu. Though the Home Minister retracted his earlier statement, the Opposition demanded his resignation and even filed a complaint against him at the Malleswaram police station.
The ruling party came in support of Mr. Jnanendra, saying he was correct in his statement and shifted the blame on the city Police Commissioner, accusing him of lying.
On Saturday, DGP Praveen Sood, along with city Police Commissioner Kamal Pant, met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and updated him about the case along with the video-recorded statement of Simon Raj, who witnessed the attack.
