Bengaluru: Social activist S.R. Hiremath on Monday said that the two crucial arrests of Ashwin Y., son of Lokayukta Y. Bhaskar Rao, and Lokayukta Joint Commissioner of Police (PRO) Syed Riyaz by the SIT should be applauded. But the SIT should continue the investigations diligently and procure evidence to prosecute the Lokayukta himself as it is a clear case of abetment, he demanded.
“These are crucial arrests that were long overdue. The FIR filed on July 1 clearly indicates the involvement of Ashwin and others. Then why did the SIT wait for so long to carry out the arrests? Why are they so irresponsible in carrying out their duties? These are the question they have to answer some day. We had issued a press release saying that if they continued to delay Ashwin’s arrest, we would be constrained to file an application before the High Court asking Kamal Pant, the head of the SIT, and his two officers Labhu Ram and Soumendu Mukherji to explain why they had conspired to delay the arrests and who were the unforeseen hands that were preventing them from carrying out their duty. That probably has had an impact,” said Mr. Hiremath.
“Syed Riyaz is close to Ashwin’s father Y. Bhaskar Rao, because he is the PRO of the institution, and also Ashwin. We now strongly feel that the next arrest should be that of Bhaskar Rao, who was brazenly shielding these extortionists, fraudsters and his son, who was a repeat offender. Bhaskar Rao was also removing files from the office which form crucial evidence in the case,” Mr Hiremath said.
“We will now move the High Court to ensure that the case is handed over to the CBI for a fair, impartial and independent probe. We will request the court to monitor the investigation as the government is hand-in-glove with Bhaskar Rao. The government is trying to protect the father and son, while the duo is trying to protect corrupt ministers,” he said.
