Ex-minister arrested for attack, released

A former BJP minister and the party’s candidate from the reserved Bellary constituency, in the mining heartland of elections-bound Karnataka, was arrested and released on bail on Saturday for an alleged attack on a rival as the iron ore-related politics in the volatile region peaked ahead of the three-phase polls in May.

B Sriramulu, 35, former tourism minister in the JDS-BJP coalition, is accused of instigating an attack on Friday on the residence of another former BJP MLA and mine owner, 35-year-old Anil Lad, according to Bellary Superintendent of Police Amrit Paul. Three cars owned by Lad, who joined the Congress last week, were set on fire in the attack.

Sriramulu, a history sheeter, is alleged to have threatened Lad against contesting from the Bellary City region, where Sriramulu had won in 2004 and where one of his political godfathers is slated to contest on a BJP ticket this time.

Story continues below this ad

Lad, who was an MLA from the Kudligi constituency in the region, is expecting to fight on a Congress ticket from Bellary City after Kudligi was declared a reserved constituency.

Over the past few years, Bellary has hogged the political limelight in Karnataka — first, for the Sonia Gandhi-versus- Sushma Swaraj battle in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls, and then for the politics around the iron ore business boom.