Extortion biz behind Cauvery violence: Cops

'KRV, Jaya Karnataka wanted to instil fear in bizmen'

The large-scale violence and arson that gripped Bengaluru on September 12 were orchestrated mainly by pro-Kannada organisations, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) and Jaya Karnataka (JK), to control the city’s extortion racket, police investigation has found.

The KRV (T A Narayan Gowda faction) and the JK used the Cauvery issue to instil fear in businessmen in western and northern Bengaluru where they are running extortion rackets. Besides, leaders of the BJP’s SC/ST Yuva Morcha and other fringe groups were also involved in the violence, a senior police officer told DH.

“We have arrested 60 people associated with these organisations and are hunting for at least 100 more,” he added.

The arrested include office bearers of the organisations, such as presidents, vice presidents, general secretaries and heads of women’s wings. The same outfits were involved in riots and arson in Ramanagaram and Mandya districts, according to the officer.

KRV and JK cadres had planned to extort money from businessmen for Karnataka Rajyotsava, the state formation day on November 1, by instilling fear of large-scale violence.

Most of the suspects live within two-km radius of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) connecting Tumakuru and Mysuru Roads. Nearly 70% of the violence happened in these areas, Additional Commissioner (West) K S R Charan Reddy told this reporter.

Around 30 KRV workers, including women, indulged in violence in Mandya and then dashed to Kengeri. Without any provocation, they targeted an automobile showroom in Kengeri and stoned it at the behest of KRV general secretary Kannada Prakash. 
The troublemakers also barged into a depot of the SRS Travels on the ORR.

They intended to set the buses there afire but refrained from doing so on seeing the workers inside speaking Kannada. They then barged into the KPN Travels’ depot at Azad Nagar, off Mysuru Road, and burnt 42 buses. They took offence that the KPN Travels staff were conversing in Tamil, Reddy said. He dismissed reports that the fire was “staged” by the travel operator to claim insurance.

When police confronted Narayan Gowda, he insisted that his cadre were not involved. But he had no answer when police showed him CCTV footage and photos of his cadre indulging in violence. Police, though, are yet to find evidence against JK founder N Muthappa Rai.