2nd threat to Union Minister Hedge made; case registered

After a near attack on the Union Minister Anant Kumar Hedge a few days back, he has received another one.

Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the Member of Parliament for Uttara Kannada constituency, Anant Kumar Hegde on Sunday received a phone call on his landline threatening to kill him.

A complaint has been filed by his personal assistant Suresh Govind Shetty at Sirsi police station.

According to the complaint, the minister had received the first call on his mobile from a number +4044 at 2.17am on Sunday. As Hegde suspected it as an internet call, he did not receive it. At 2.20 am, his landline received a call from a number 004044000, which was picked up by Hegde’s wife Roopa. The caller inquired who was speaking in Hindi and when Roopa replied, the caller disconnected the phone.

Again the landline received a call at 2.25 am, the caller disconnected when Roopa picked up the call. The third time, Hegde received the call and when he answered the caller that Hegde was speaking, the caller threatened him.

“I will behead you. You think you’re a big leader? We’ll behead you and cut you into pieces,” is what the unknown caller had said.

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This was followed by verbal abuse. Hegde cut off the call without giving the person to abuse him further.

A complaint was lodged at the Sirsi police station 6.10pm on Sunday.

Police have registered a case under section 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 507 ( criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication) of the Indian Penal Code based on a complaint made by his Personal Assistant.

Recently the Union Minister’s car and the envoy was involved in a crash, to which the Minister has deemed it as an assassination attempt.

The minister had claimed that an accident involving one of his escort vehicles and a lorry had been an attempt on his life.

In subsequent tweets, he claimed that it had been a failed assassination attempt that also caused serious injury to a police officer.

However, the police denied this theory and said that prima facie, there was no evidence to suggest it was anything but an accident. The Minister had faced ridicule after it was established that the lorry was owned by the brother of a BJP functionary.

CM Siddaramaiah slammed the incident as a political gimmick and said it was an attempt by Hegde to outdo the party’s chief ministerial face Yeddyurappa.