Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, R. Ashoka, has made a serious demand for a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into a recent violent eviction drive in Bengaluru. The incident, which occurred in the Kogilu area near Yelahanka, has sparked a major political controversy, with the BJP alleging links to terrorist organizations.
Violent Clash During Eviction Drive
The controversy stems from an eviction operation carried out by the Bengaluru police and civic authorities on May 29, 2024. The drive targeted what officials described as illegal encroachments on government land in Kogilu. According to police reports, the operation faced strong resistance from a group of individuals, leading to a violent clash.
During the confrontation, a police sub-inspector, identified as Kumar, sustained a head injury. Authorities stated that the resisting group pelted stones at the police team, damaging government vehicles in the process. In response, the police detained several individuals to bring the situation under control.
Political Allegations and Demand for NIA Inquiry
The situation took a sharply political turn when R. Ashoka addressed the media. He accused the ruling Congress government in Karnataka of orchestrating the eviction drive for political motives. Ashoka claimed that the land was occupied by "innocent people" and that the police action was excessive and unwarranted.
More explosively, Ashoka alleged that the individuals who instigated the violence and attacked the police have connections with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). He referenced a 2022 case where the NIA had arrested individuals with alleged PFI links from the same locality. Based on these alleged connections, Ashoka formally demanded that the state government hand over the investigation of the Kogilu incident to the NIA to uncover potential "terror links."
"The Congress government is using the police force to suppress people for its vote bank politics," Ashoka alleged, framing the event as a matter of state-sponsored intimidation rather than a simple law-and-order operation.
Police Stand and Ongoing Fallout
The Bengaluru police have defended their actions, stating that the eviction was a lawful procedure against illegal occupation. They maintain that the use of force was a necessary response to the violent aggression they faced from the encroachers.
The incident has ignited a fierce war of words between the BJP and the Congress in Karnataka. The BJP is leveraging the event to criticize the state government's governance and law-and-order management, while the Congress is expected to dismiss the allegations as a political stunt to deflect from substantive issues. The demand for an NIA probe raises the stakes significantly, ensuring that the Kogilu eviction incident will remain a heated topic in the state's political discourse for the foreseeable future.
The ball is now in the court of the state government to decide whether to escalate the investigation to the central anti-terror agency. The outcome of this decision could have significant implications for the political climate in Bengaluru and Karnataka.
