Assault case: Former minister surrenders, get bail

Former minister in the JD-S-BJP government, B Sriramulu, was released by the Bellary police after he obtained anticipatory bail on Thursday.

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Sriramulu had surrendered before Gandhinagar police in Bellary after a look out was ordered against him in connection with an assault case.

A Congress worker in Bellary had alleged that Sriramulu, who is contesting the elections from Bellary, had assaulted him on Wednesday night. It was also alleged that BJP member of legislative council, Janardhan Reddy, had abetted the incident.

Earlier during the day, Reddy was taken by the police for questioning and released later.

Sriramulu, who was absconding initially, later surrendered before the police and obtained anticipatory bail. The incident had created a lot of tension in Bellary with the BJP activists staging a protest.

Bellary, which is also the mining capital of Karnataka, will go to polls on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Thursday night suspended Superintendent of Police of Bellary district Amrut Pal on the charge of 'biased' behaviour, official sources said.

The suspension came hours after the attack on the Congress worker in Bellary.

"Amrut Pal was suspended for biased behaviour and for not handling the law and order situation properly," an Election Commission official said.

DIG (CoD) Alok Kumar has been given additional responsibility of Bellary district.