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With election results looming over us, we woke up to the shocking news that a female Congress leader from Karnataka, Reshma Padeknur is dead.
The body of politician Reshma Padeknur, bearing injury marks was found under the Kolhar Bridge on the banks of the Krishna river of Basavanabagewadi taluk in the wee hours on Friday, 17 May 2019. Police are yet to ascertain the cause of death.
Given the the injury marks on her body, it appears that police suspects a murder case but are waiting for substantial evidence before pronouncing the homicide.
Though not much is known about her demise, police surmise that the criminals may have killed her on Thursday night and then thrown her body into the river.
“We are not at a stage of confirming whether it is a murder or suicide. We have beefed up the investigation and her relatives have been summoned,” was what the Additional Superintendent of police B.S. Nemegoud told the representatives of The New Indian Express. Beyond confirming the death, the police had refused to divulge further details of the incident. The case has been registered with the Kolhar police station.
According to her relatives, she was last seen on Thursday with one of the leaders from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party, Maharashtra.
As per sources of the New Indian Express report cited above, prior to joining the Congress, she served as the JD(S) district president of the women’s wing for over a decade. She also contested from the Devarahipparagi assembly constituency on a JD(S) ticket in 2013 but lost the elections. After JD(S) leaders denied her a ticket in the last assembly polls, she had quit the party and joined the Congress. She had also alleged that she was sidelined by the JDS even after serving the party for years.
Her death has left her fellow politicians shocked. Media was flooded with tweets from different sources condemning the incident. In her tweet, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Karnataka and MP from Chikkamagalur, Shobha Karandlaje tweeted, “Shocked & deeply saddened to hear about the brutal murder of Reshma Padeknur, Congress worker from Vijayapura. My deepest condolences to her family & near ones. Demand for a swift investigation of this incident & Arrest the culprits immediately.”
We are yet to hear a statement from the Congress Party.
The apparent murder of a female candidate at this crucial juncture is deeply disturbing, and it is to be hoped that the police will make progress soon. We as women and citizens of India demand a fair trial and justice on this murder.
Image courtesy Reshma Padeknur’s Facebook cover image
Rimli Bhattacharya is a First class gold medalist in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, an MBA in supply chain management and is engaged with a corporate sector. Her essay in the anthology “Book read more...
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