Home Minister G. Parameshwara on Tuesday said a high-level probe would be ordered into the episode of some Kannada writers getting threat letters and also announced that security would be provided to them.
The Minister, who held a meeting with the writers in Bengaluru, told mediapersons that a separate team of police officers would be formed to look into the episode.
He said that a delegation of writers, led by veteran writer K. Marulasiddappa, had met him earlier to brief him about the situation. About a fortnight ago, they had written to him seeking protection. “Today, they met me and narrated in detail the nature of threat calls and letters,” he noted. The Minister felt that those opposed to the ideology being followed by the writers may be behind them.
Mr. Parameshwara said the government had taken the issue seriously as activist and journalist Gauri Lankesh and scholar M.M. Kalaburgi, who were killed, too were getting such threats. He made it clear that gunmen would be provided to those writers, who need security. A decision in this regard would be taken based on individual requirements, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Marulasiddappa alleged that those who were against freedom of expression were issuing threats to those who talk freely. “They threaten us as we condemn their fascist ideology. This is what happened with Gauri Lankesh and Kalaburgi too,” he said. Alleging that a big group was working behind these incidents, he demanded that the government identify that group and expose how it creates fear psychoses.
Mr. Marulasiddappa made it clear that they were not supporting or opposing any political party. “We support whichever party is doing good work whether it is Congress or BJP,” he said, while stressing upon the need to protect the cultural plurality of the country. “We will tell the government to act against those opposing the Indian Constitution,” he said.
