Karnataka Lokayukta Stabbed In Bengaluru Office, Attacker Arrested

Bengaluru:  Karnataka Lokayukta or anti-corruption ombudsman Justice P Vishwanatha Shetty was stabbed multiple times today inside his office in Bengaluru by a complainant, who has been arrested. Mr Shetty is out of danger, said state home minister Ramalinga Reddy.

The attacker has been identified as Tejas Sharma. He allegedly was in a crowd of complainants who had come to meet the Lokayukta in his office in the ground floor of the Multi-Storey Building, popularly known as MS Building.

Justice Shetty, 74, has been taken to a private hospital. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reached Mallya Hospital to meet Justice Shetty.
 A leader of the state's ruling Congress said the Lokayukta prefers to be accessible to the people and there is hardly any security at his office.

"There was no bar for anybody. Anybody could access him with their grievances, there was no armed guard," said Brijesh Kalappa of the state's ruling Congress, describing the attacker as a "madman".

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"There are multiple CCTV cameras...a metal detector and multiple people watching. How can we say there has been a security breach," Mr Kalappa added.

Former Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, however, rejected the view. "There has definitely been a security breach," he said.