Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members stormed the residence of Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra in Bengaluru in protest against the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Nettaru.
Around 40 workers from the ABVP arrived at the residence of the Home Minister on Saturday morning in protest. They shouted, “We want justice,” questioning the BJP government in Karnataka following the murder of Praveen earlier this week.
Protestors were also seen holding placards and banners that read "We gave our time, but you didn't give yours," in front of the Home Minister's residence in Jayamahal in Bengaluru.
Police officials quickly detained the protesters who had managed to break through the police lines into the house. The Home Minister issued a statement saying that he will invite the disgruntled ABVP members for a discussion. “In the wake of incidents like the DG Halli, KG Halli riots and the recent killing of BJP worker Praveen, there was a protest by ABVP members calling for a ban on organisations like the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Popular Front of India. I understand their sentiments and the state government is also thinking on that regard. ABVP workers made their feelings known about this in my absence. I will invite ABVP members and speak about this soon,” Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said in a statement.
The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is a political party founded in 2009 and is considered to be the political wing of the Muslim organisation Popular Front of India (PFI). ABVP is a right-wing student organisation affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The protest comes amid anger among Hindutva supporters and BJP-affiliated workers in Karnataka following the murder of Praveen Nettaru, a BJP Yuva Morcha member in Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. The murder of Praveen followed another murder of 19-year-old Masud from Sullia, earlier this month. On Thursday evening, a third man - Mohammed Fazil - was murdered outside a cloth store in Surathkal in Dakshina Kannada district.
The investigation into the death of Praveen Nettaru was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday while the BJP government in Karnataka cancelled its programmes scheduled for the completion of one year of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s term. Chief Minister Bommai on Thursday, July 28 handed over a cheque of Rs 25 lakh to Praveen Nettaru's family. While speaking to the media after visiting slain Praveen Nettaru's residence, the CM said that all efforts would be made to solve the murder case.
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