BJP leader CT Ravi addresses a press conference on his arrest, in Bengaluru, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Alleging that there was a “plot to murder” him using the police, BJP MLC C.T. Ravi on Saturday (December 21, 2024) demanded a judicial probe into the case filed against him and the way the police “misbehaved” with him taking him across several villages all through the night.
Mr. Ravi had been arrested at Balagavi on Thursday for allegedly using a derogatory word against Minister for Women and Child Development Laxmi Hebbalkar inside the Legislative Council. However, the High Court of Karnataka, on Friday evening, directed the police to immediately release him from custody.
Addressing presspersons in the BJP office a day after the release, Mr. Ravi alleged that the police’s action was nothing but “mental and physical torture.” “I have a strong suspicion that Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar have planned something against me. My life is still under threat and I demand a judicial probe into this,” he said.
‘Phone tapped’
Alleging that his phone was being tapped, Mr. Ravi said, “I want the government to provide adequate security for me. If something happens to me, the government will have to take responsibility.”
Narrating the alleged police action, the BJP MLC claimed the police took him across several districts and in the sugarcane fields during the night. “I suspect they had directions to finish me off or get me attacked. Thankfully the media and our party workers followed us and nothing happened. There was someone constantly calling the police and giving directions on the route. Someone was asking the police to snatch my phone. Police call records need to be investigated as this will give details about where all they have taken me. A judicial probe will reveal everything,” he said.
‘Banana republic?’
He further claimed his phone being tracked needs to be investigated. “The Deputy Chief Minister Belagavi is Ms. Hebbalkar’s area and I was fortune to be let go. What does he think, is Belagavi a Banana Republic?” he asked
Published – December 21, 2024 05:44 pm IST