Home Minister Araga Jnanendra has stated that an “encounter” cannot be an answer for a murder. “One more death cannot be a solution to a murder,” he said in Shivamogga on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference, the minister said when such incidents happen, it is quite natural for people to express strong opinions. “But we don’t believe in that. We are taking all necessary actions to ensure the guilty are punished. We are appointing special public prosecutors to handle the cases and also appealing to the magistrates to take up the cases on a priority basis. Special officers are being appointed to monitor the investigation into all murders,” the minister said.
He was responding to repeated appeals by the BJP cadre for ‘encounter of murderers’ in keeping with the ‘Uttar Pradesh model of governance’. He said he was disturbed by Praveen Nettaru’s murder and could not sleep for two days.
The minister said the State Government had referred the murder case of Praveen to the National Investigation Agency as the accused had been roaming in two states, according to the investigation conducted so far. Depending upon the nature of the case, the government would act. It was not necessary to hand over all cases to the NIA, he said.
He also said that the withdrawal of cases registered against the activists of PFI and other such organisations during the previous Congress regime was the cause for the murders in the state.
