JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy on Friday appeared to suggest to deal with alleged rapists of a college student near Mysuru, on the lines of police action in Telangana nearly two years ago when perpetrators of such a crime were shot dead.
Amid outrage over the gang-rape, Karnataka minister Anand Singh said: "Everything of the perpetrators should be chopped off."
Speaking to reporters in Chennapatna, Kumaraswamy said, "I appreciate the Hyderabad police in dealing with a rape case. What did they do finally? Unless stringent action is taken things will not improve."
The former chief minister was referring to the way the Hyderabad police shot dead the four alleged rapists who had burnt alive a veterinarian along with her vehicle after committing the crime at Shamshabad in the Telangana capital in 2019.
While recreating the crime scene, all the four accused were taken to the spot. When they allegedly tried to escape, Telangana police shot them.
"The government should handle it delicately and follow what was done in Hyderabad," Kumaraswamy added.
He blamed the government and police for the incident, which "did not stop people from drinking in public places". He alleged that gambling activities were rampant in villages.
Flaying "police for targeting innocent people and not the anti-social elements", he said the police department has become inept due to the "transfer for money".
He even added that the existing system encouraged the criminals.
"In our existing system, the accused are sent to jail and then they come out on bail after a few days. There is a belief that nothing will happen," the JD(S) leader said.
Karnataka tourism, environment and ecology minister Anand Singh said, "Everything of the perpetrators should be chopped off. Such incidents should not have happened."
Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa said the police were investigating the case sincerely and were working beyond their capacity to trace the criminals.
"I am confident that the criminals will be caught and punished accordingly," Yediyurappa said.
Reacting to the incident, Congress MLA from Belagavi Rural constituency Laxmi Hebbalkar demanded capital punishment for the criminals as they not only perpetrated the heinous crime, but also made a video and tried to extort money from the victim.
She even wondered why the police could not trace the criminals even after "so many days".
The medical student with her male friend were on their way to the Chamundi hills on the outskirts of Mysuru on Tuesday evening when at least four people waylaid them and gang-raped her after assaulting him.
The gang members also allegedly made a video and threatened to make it viral unless they paid them Rs three lakh, police sources said.
When the girl and her male friend expressed their inability, they thrashed them.
The girl was later admitted to a hospital where she narrated the trauma she underwent.
