Karnataka Congress Leader Files FIR Against Fellow MLA for Assault at Resort; Party Suspends 'Attacker'

Bengaluru: More than 24 hours after an alleged brawl that took place inside the Eagleton resort in Bengaluru between two Congress MLAs, a first information report has been lodged against MLA JN Ganesh based on the statement of the victim Anand Singh, another MLA. Ganesh has also been suspended from the party.

During the fight which took place on Saturday night at the resort where 76 Karnataka Congress legislators were put up, Ganesh, MLA of Kampli in Bellary district allegedly beat up Anand Singh with flower pots and sticks.

According to the FIR, the fight began when the two were returning to their rooms after dinner and Ganesh asked Anand why the latter had not helped him financially during the elections. Following which he allegedly threatened to finish of Anand's nephew Sandeep.

"When I asked him why he was bringing family into this, he threatened to finish me off. He then abused me and hit me with a wooden log and flower pots on my face and head," Anand Singh, MLA of Vijayanagara constituency in Bellary district, said in his statement to police.

"He then pushed my head against the wall, asked for a gun to finish me off. When I fell down, he stamped me on my stomach and face saying "die, die," the FIR reads.

Minister Thukaram, legislators Raghumurthy, Ramappa and Tanveer Sait are said to have intervened at this point.

Anand Singh, in his complaint, has alleged that Ganesh had attacked him with an intention to kill and fears for his life.

FIR against Ganesh is registered under sections 323, 324, 307, 504 and 506 of the IPC.

Following the brawl on Saturday, senior leaders in the party had given different versions of the event, almost all of them denying that any such incident had taken place. A medico-legal register of Anand Singh from the private hospital where he is admitted said he had sustained injuries to his head, face and left side of his chest. The register also pointed to a nasal blood clot, a black eye.

On Monday, Ganesh issued a statement to the media denying the allegations that he had hit Anand. However, he admitted that something had gone wrong inside the resort and apologised to Anand and his family through the media.

The party has also ordered an internal enquiry appointing a committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and minister KJ George and Krishna Byre Gowda as members.