S Nataraj’s relatives were furious after they came to know about his murder. His sister Mallika verbally abused the police. She wondered what the police were doing when an elected representative was attacked so close to a police station. She asked the police whether they were busy eating Rs5-worth bonda and pakoda.
She repeatedly said: “How can a corporator be killed in broad daylight in a busy locality?”
“What are the police doing in the city. What happened to law and order? Can anybody be killed this easily in public?” she said.
Police personnel, who were deployed at Victoria Hospital mortuary to avoid unruly scenes, did not have answers to her questions. Mallika demanded that the attackers be arrested immediately. Nataraj’s supporters, too, demanded immediate action.
Emotions ran high at the hospital and the cops did not take any chances as the South division police tightened the security. Deputy commissioner of police (south) Sonia Narang stayed at the morgue till the postmortem was conducted and the body handed over to relatives.
Mallika asked Narang to arrest the attackers and the latter assured Mallika that the police would leave no stone unturned to trace the killers.
After Narang left the morgue, Mallika told the police personnel present there that she knew the identity of her brother’s killers. “I know who killed my brother. The police also know and they have to arrest them immediately. Otherwise, I will go and kill him. After that, the police should keep quiet like today,” she said.
“The police must arrest the man behind the incident and allow us to question him. We will leave him if he proves that my brother has committed a mistake. My brother is innocent,” said Mallika.
Mallika said that every day, Nataraj would travel with three or four friends. “Today, nobody was with him. I suspect his friends are also involved in the murder,” she said.
Hundreds of Nataraj’s well-wishers and supporters gathered at the morgue, the crime scene and at his house in Kumara Park.
Congress leaders CK Jaffer Sharief, Dinesh Gundu Rao, NL Narendra Babu, M Krishnappa, Tejaswini Ramesh and others visited his house. Nataraj’s funeral will be held on Sunday.
