Gowda to raise farmers murder issue

BANGALORE:  Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda said he will raise the issue of the alleged murder of farmer Siddalinga Prabhu in Parliament following the State government’s lack of response to his demand for a CBI probe into the incident.“There has been no response even after a month when I called on Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda requesting him to refer the farmer’s murder to the CBI. Hence, I will raise the issue in Parliament after mobilising the Left and like-minded regional parties,” Deve Gowda said on Tuesday, just before breaking his one-day fast which he undertook in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue here.Prabhu, a farmer of Sompura village in Bangalore south taluk, was fighting against the acquisition of his land by NICE company for the Bangalore-Mysore road project. He was found dead under suspicious circumstances and the issue was taken up Gowda and other dalit organisations.Prabhu’s widow Mamata had recently attempted suicide in protest against the failure of the state government to arrest those behind her husband’s murder.Castigating the government for not directing the police to take action against NICE company chairman Ashok Kheny and Ramanagaram BJP leader Rudresh - who are alleged to have got Siddalinga Prabhu eliminated - Gowda accused that the police are hand-in-glove with the two.