Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)
Udupi, Mar 7: Hours after Lokayukta Justice Vishwanath Shetty, his relative in Udupi expressed serious concerns over security and said that if an official like the Lokayukta could be attackd in his office, how could ordinary people feel safe.
Justice P Vishwanatha Shetty had a miraculous escape on Wednesday after he was stabbed repeatedly by a disgruntled man at his office here, police said. The attacker, identified as Tejaraj Sharma, was arrested while Shetty was said to be out of danger.
Reacting to media reports the stabbing incident, Justice Shetty's sister-in-law Jayanthi Shetty told reporters at Brahmagiri here, "I got to know about the incident from Shekhar who works in my home. He asked me to switch on the TV and watch the news.
"Justice Vishwanath is the younger brother of my husband. He has good relations with our family. He came to our house recently.
"Vishwanath Shetty is a very soft-spoken person. He is a person who does not interfere in other people's matters. He has a lot of patience. He pronounces judgements after careful consideration and never takes any decision in a hurry. The incident is deeply shocking," she said, tears rolling down her eyes.
Expressing her disappointment with the security, she said, "Security needs to be tightened. If like this can happen to such an official, then who will give security to common people?"
After the incident, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed the ruling Congress for a "collapsed" law and order situation in the state.
"Criminals have reached the Lokayukta office. Continued apathy of the Siddaramaiah government in dealing with criminals has led to a situation where no one feels safe in Karnataka," BJP's Lok Sabha lawmaker Shobha Karandlaje tweeted.
BJP's state unit president B S Yeddyurappa said: "It is high time the Siddaramaiah government get its act together and tackles the lawlessness in the state."
Rajnath Singh speaks to CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI): Home Minister Rajnath Singh today spoke to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and expressed concern over the attack on the state Lokayukta.
Officials said the chief minister apprised Singh about the incident and the condition of the Lokayukta, P Vishwanath Shetty.
They added that the home minister wished Justice Shetty a speedy recovery.
Shetty was stabbed multiple times today and left bleeding profusely by a man, who had gone to his office with a complaint, only to be told that the case was shut.
Shetty, in his early 70s, was rushed to a nearby hospital and is stated to be out of danger.
The Lokayukta collapsed after the assailant, Tejaraj Sharma, attacked him at his chamber in a multi-storeyed building near the Vidhana Soudha (state secretariat), according to officials and eyewitnesses.
Siddaramaiah, who rushed to the hospital and enquired about Shetty's condition, told reporters that the attacker was placed under arrest.