Ballari, 4 Jan

Police said they had arrested 26 people in connection with the violent clash at Ballari, while Home Minister G Parameshwara said the government was mulling handing over the probe into the case to CID.

One person was killed by gunfire during a clash over the erection of a banner for the unveiling of the Valmiki statue on 1 January.

10 Congress workers and 11 BJP workers were among those arrested, all of whom were taken into custody after undergoing medical examinations as part of the arrest procedure, a police statement said. Six cases have been registered at the Brucepet police station and are under investigation.

The violence reportedly stemmed from disputes over the erection of banners and buntings between supporters of ruling Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy and BJP MLA G Janardhan Reddy.

Meanwhile, Parameshwara said that the guns of the gunmen hired for private security have been seized and a report is underway. He reiterated that the government believed the firing didn’t happen with a police gun.

He said the government was mulling handing over the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or to a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

“There are possibilities of giving the matter to the CID. I will speak to CM Siddaramaiah. If need be, then we will do it,” he said.

He said strict action would follow if the involvement of private gunmen was established. “Police will investigate whether guns or hand grenades were used”.

Parameshwara also pointed to the sequence of events leading to the violence.

“There was no commotion till Janardhan came to Ballari,” he claimed. “We will investigate that as well.”

Meanwhile, police have detained two private gunmen, Baljit Singh and Gurucharan.