BSY 'inhuman': Siddaramiah over ex-gratia withdrawal

Ex-CM Siddaramaiah hits out at BSY government U-turn denying compensation to families of duo killed in Mangaluru police firing.

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah hit out at the U-turn of the state government denying compensation to families of victims of police firing in Mangaluru, during the recent protests against Citizenship Amendment Act, here on Wednesday.

In a Twitter post, Siddaramaiah accused the B S Yediyurappa-led government of being 'inhuman' and 'cruelly communal'. "An elected government should not turn this inhumane, (and) cruelly communal. By saying that no relief will be provided for the families of those who lost their lives in Mangaluru riots, B S Yediyurappa has sentenced a judgement even before the investigation is complete," he said, in the first of two tweets.

Siddaramaiah took a dig at Yediyurappa, saying that his remarks on Wednesday was in conflict with the CID probe ordered on the shooting incident and accused him of ordering the police to shoot at the protesters.

"Since CM B S Yediyurappa has already pronounced a judgement that the two dead in police firing were responsible for Mangalore riots, why this drama of a CID probe? Stop the investigation.

It is now clear that you are the person who ordered police to take lives," he tweeted.

The tweets came after Yediyurappa made a U-turn saying that the State government had not promised to compensate the families of victims of police shooting. "The two (victims) were among the accused in the incident and compensation can be announced only if the duo turn out to be innocent during the investigation," he said.

On Monday, the State government had constituted a magisterial enquiry and CID probe over the episode. On Sunday, contrary to the remarks made by Yediyurappa, the CMO had issued a statement announcing a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to families of victims of the shooting and had directed Deputy Commissioner of the district to disburse it as soon as possible.