Belgaum clash: Cops' failure blamed

Belgaum district in-charge minister Satish Jarkiholi on Friday blamed police failure for incidents of stone-throwing and arson here on Thursday.

He said that an inquiry would be held, police officers who fail­­ed to discharge their duties shunted out of the district and the troublemakers arrested. 

Jarkiholi held meetings with the police and the district administration, and took stock of the situation. He later told reporters that the young man, Feroze Pathan, was fatally stabbed when the group was together and that it was not a communal clash. But in the aftermath of the incident, police failed to maintain law and order, which spurred violence, he maintained. According to the minister, police failed to go after the miscreants who threw stones and empty liquor bottles at shops and vehicles. Action will be taken against the lax officers and they will be shunted out of the district, he added. 

Additional Director General of Police (Crime and Technical Services), N S Megharikh, will conduct an inquiry into the incident, Jarkiholi said and exuded confidence that the police would arrest the culprits as the CCTV camera footage of the violence was available. 

The minister further said that an all-party meeting had been held and all leaders had assured their co-operation in maintaining peace and harmony. None of them will meddle with the investigation and police have been given free rein to go after the killers of Pathan, and the troublemakers, he added.