Karnataka Chief Minister gives CID 72 hrs for report on Kabeer's killing

Bengaluru:Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is recuperating at a plush holistic health centre in Bengaluru after the hectic election campaigning, has reportedly ordered for the arrest of Naveen Naik, the commando of the Anti Naxal Force, who on April 19 early morning had gunned down a ‘cattle merchant’, Kabeer, at the Thanikodu checkpost from an AK47 assault rifle after he mistook Kabeer for a Naxalite.

It is learnt that the chief minister and Home Minister K.J. George, who are under tremendous pressure from their colleagues in the Congress for what is being termed as a “cold blooded murder” of an innocent civilian and “excessive use of force” by the ANF, wanted Naik to be arrested immediately. But on the advice of some senior bureaucrats, they have given the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) 72 hours to investigate and bring out the truth.

The department has already deputed a team of officials headed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, CID, Soumendu Mukherjee along with Superintendent of Police, CID Srigowri to Chikamagalur for spot investigation.

Meanwhile, the unfortunate incident has created a split among senior police officers in the state with most of them willing to stand by Naik, who they argue fired in the line of duty. There are other officers, who are toeing the line of their political bosses and feel that Kabeer’s killing was an extrajudicial killing and the ANF should be brought to book. This is the second instance in which the ANF in a case of “mistaken identity” fatally hit an innocent person. In October 2011 the Force, which was combing the Belthangady forests on Intelligence inputs on the movement of Naxal leader Vikram Gowdulu had ‘mistakenly’ gunned down Mahadev S. Mane – a constable of the Karnataka State Reserve Police, who was deployed in the ANF.