IT City or mafia den? Plot to kill MLA unearthed

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A politician and a thug discussing the price of hiring contract killers to do away with a political rival is the stuff of pulp fiction. Gopal Krishna, a Congress leader from Yelahanka, has been caught on tape doing just that. Seen on video with rowdy sheeter Kulla Devaraj, Krishna discusses paying suparis (contract killers) from Andhra Pradesh `5 crore to assassinate Yelahanka MLA and BDA Chairman S.R. Vishwanath.

“Krishna is not courageous enough to plan my murder on his own,” proclaimed MLA Vishwanath, who filed a written complaint and requested the government for police protection.

City police Commissioner Kamal Pant deputed a team of CCB sleuths led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Dharmendra to investigate. Krishna was questioned on Tuesday, then released and told to appear if needed. Devaraj, whose infamy grew through his dealings in disputed land, is still being questioned. Gopal Krishna called the video fake, and “an assassination of his character.”

Krishna, who had no idea that he was being recorded, told Devaraj his plans to murder the MLA. The two men are heard discussing paying a “supari of Rs 5 crores to sharp shooters from Andhra Pradesh.”

Krishna, who has stood against Vishwanath in the Yelahanka constituency and lost repeatedly in the assembly elections, says on tape that he cannot defeat the MLA even if he “spends `100 crores” and that his death will mean a “political rebirth” for himself.