The attack on two policemen in Varthur who raided a gambling den saw both the BJP and Congrees take potshots at each other and give a political spin to the assault.

The policemen were allegedly beaten up by a group of gamblers on Sunday when they raided the den. A video of the attack on the policemen also surfaced on social media. Varthur police arrested four people in connection with the case and launched a hunt for the other attackers.

The four arrested men — Murali Mohan, Sandeep, Kumar and Murthy — are residents of Siddapura, near Varthur.

“The policemen escaped and informed senior officers about the incident. Based on clues and information from the public, four persons were arrested in the evening. They have been identified by the policemen. We are on the search for other absconding persons, who allegedly instigated the four men to attack the policemen,” the police was quoted as saying.

However, soon after the videos of the attack surfaced, Congress released a photograph of one of the accused, Sandeep, posing with Mahadevpura MLA and BJP state general secretary Arvind Limbavali.

Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy also said that the accused were BJP party workers.  The BJP has since announced that it has removed Sandeep from the party

The criticism did not go down well with the BJP, which hit back by posting pictures of Murali Mohan, Kumar and Murthy featuring in hoardings of Congress worker AC Srinivas, who is aspiring to contest in Mahadevapura constituency.

“Reddy is trying to mislead the public ahead of the 2018 elections. The accused are supporters of the Congress ticket aspirant for Mahadevapura. The assault on policemen is condemnable, and over the last few weeks, the Congress has been giving a free hand to goondas. The attack proves the same,” Limbavali told the Times of India.

BJP leaders also lashed out at the ruling Congress government by alleging that law and order had ‘collapsed’ in the state.