LoP Ashoka urges Karnataka govt to deport Bangladeshi and Pak nationals, tackle terror

Bengaluru, Jul 9 (PTI) BJP leader R Ashoka on Wednesday called for the deportation of Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals in Karnataka and urged the state government to cooperate with central agencies like NIA to dismantle networks supporting terror activities, without indulging in "vote bank politics".

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly remarks follow the arrest of three people, including a prison psychiatrist and an armed reserve police personnel, by the NIA following extensive searches in Karnataka over their alleged involvement in a prison radicalisation case linked to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group.

Searches were conducted at five locations in Bengaluru and Kolar districts, leading to the arrest of Dr Nagaraj, psychiatrist, Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara, Bengaluru, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Chan Pasha and Anees Fathima, mother of an absconding accused.

"NIA has arrested three... such people are dangerous for the country's security. The state government, especially the Home department has no direction, there is no one to question. Even when the central government ordered Pakistanis to be deported the state government showed hesitancy, because of this the terror related activities have increased," Ashoka alleged.

Speaking to reporters here, he demanded that the state government take swift action to deport all Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals, and form a special force for this purpose.

"The state government should cooperate with the investigating agency (NIA), and vote bank politics should not be played here. The state government has to ensure that the activities of prisoners are monitored at jail, who all they are in contact with and how they get mobile phones, who is supplying them. There seems to be a big network and I urge the state government to crush them," he said.

The BJP leader claimed that there is negligence on part of the state government in connection with the prison radicalisation case.

Citing reports that a prison officer helped in supplying mobile phones, he said the home department should take steps to prevent such occurrences. PTI KSU ROH