Paresh Mesta murder: Ananth Hegde claims cover-up by Karnataka government

Belagavi: Accusing the government of doing a cover-up in the "brutal killing" of Hindu activist, Paresh Mesta, Union Minister, Ananth Kumar Hegde contended here on Tuesday that he was tortured to death.

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government, desperately trying to cover up Paresh's murder, should look in the mirror to see if they are human or devils. The way Paresh was tortured and killed was so brutal that it cannot be described, '' he claimed.

The police has denied claims that Paresh was brutally killed by a section of society in Honnavar and released his autopsy report as evidence. But clearly unwilling to buy its statement, the Minister, who was heading for Athani to attend a programme, argued that people would never have resorted to such violence if somebody had merely instigated them. "In the case of Paresh, the public was witness to what happened," he claimed, also accusing the state government of being unwilling to order a proper investigation into the death of the activist.

" The government's indifference reflects the lengths to which it can go to appease the minority communities," he charged.

Maintaining that the violent protests across Uttara Kannada district spontaneous, Mr Hegde claimed they were not called by the BJP or other Hindu organisations.