Ballari clash: Was bullet that killed Cong. worker come from Cong MLA’s gunman?

The Karnataka police have prima facie concluded that the bullet that killed Congress worker Rajashekhar, 28, in the clashes in Ballari City on January 1, was fired from a firearm of one of the gunmen of Ballari City Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy, said police sources.

During the post-mortem of the deceased conducted at Ballari Medical College and Research Centre (BMCRC) doctors recovered the casing of the bullet lodged in his body. The Ballari Police have already recovered five firearms of gunmen present during the altercation on Thursday night.

The sources said that the police had prima facie found a match between the bullet casing found in the deceased’s body and a firearm of one of the bodyguards of Mr. Bharath Reddy. However, only a forensic ballistic examination could confirm it, said the sources.

“The said gunman is missing and a hunt is on for him,” a senior police officer said, expressing confidence that he will be traced soon.

There are also multiple videos of the gunmen of Mr. Bharath Reddy firing their pistols in the air, that the police were analysing, the sources said.

No SP yet

Over 24 hours after Ballari Superintendent of Police Pavan Nejjur was suspended over dereliction of duty on Friday, the district has not had a new Superintendent of police posted till late on Saturday. The delay in posting a replacement when the district is amidst a law and order crisis has raised eyebrows.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bharath Reddy and district in-charge Minister B. Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the district’s Toranagal’s Jindal Airport, where he was in transit from Sindhanur to Bengaluru. The Chief Minister also took details of the incident from senior police officials.