Speaking to reporters, he said two persons were burnt alive after Bajrang Dal and RSS workers allegedly set fire to a Tamil Nadu bus on September 18, 2007 on Hosur Road in protest against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s statement on Lord Ram during the Rama Setu project controversy.
“The prime accused in the case Ganesh Udupa was a close relative of then Home Minister V S Acharya. Hence, the government gave a silent burial to the case misusing its power,” he alleged and demanded that a CBI probe should be ordered into the case to bring out the truth.
Kumaraswamy said two cases were booked at that time -- one against those who allegedly torched the bus, and another in connection with an attack on the house of Karunanidhi’s daughter Selvi. But the government weakened the case, leading to a local court acquitting the accused, he alleged and sought replies from Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, Acharya, who is now Higher Education Minister and Law Minister S Suresh Kumar on the issue.
More than a year after the verdict in the local court, the Government is yet to challenge the acquittal in a higher court, Kumaraswamy said. Even the TN government was silent on the issue, and Selvi had chosen not to give evidence, he claimed.
He said his party would raise the issue in the on-going Legislature session through an adjournment motion. Reacting to the charges, Suresh Kumar refuted all allegations made by Kumaraswamy as baseless and said the investigation was still on. The BJP had criticised the incident, he said.