“The police at Central Bureau of Investigation are not gods. What they can do when all shreds of evidence are lost over the years”, said Home Minister Araga Jnanendra in response to a question on former minister Kimmane Ratnakar’s demand for a CBI probe into the death of a minor girl reported in Thirthahalli in 2014.
In an interaction with media in Shivamogga on Saturday, the Home Minister said the former minister could have got the issue probed in a proper manner and identified the accused. “He did not allow the real culprits to be arrested. Then he did vote bank politics on this issue. The CoD conducted the probe and they filed a B-report in the case. Now the file is closed”, he said.
The minister said if Kimmane Ratnakar was concerned about the incident, he would have got regular police conduct the probe and had dug out the truth. The police could not probe the incident due to political pressure. “After damaging all evidence over the years, he is seeking CBI probe into the issue now”, he commented. When asked why couldn’t he reopen the case, Araga Jnanendra said CBI people were not gods. They could not do anything when evidence had been lost over the years.
Recently Kimmane Ratnakar, who was a minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet in 2014, said he would stage a hunger strike on seeking a CBI probe into the girl’s death. He recalled that Araga Jnanendra, who was in the Opposition party when the incident happened, had demanded the CBI probe and also assured that the matter would be handed to the CBI once he came to power.
Further, the minister said the police had taken drug peddling and consumption seriously. Many had been arrested across the state. In Shivamogga alone last year around 200 kgs of ganja was seized. The police had arrested people who consumed ganja as well. “Ganja is grown in large quantity illegally in Andhra Pradesh. Because of our efforts, the police in the neighbouring state are forced to act on the illegal cultivators. We are taking strong steps to end this menace as people under the influence of ganja are committing heinous crimes”, he said.
