WATCH: Police clarify gunman seen with Siddaramaiah on campaign trail

New Delhi:

A Congress worker garlanded Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress Lok Sabha candidates during a roadshow in Bengaluru south, Karnataka today. What caught everyone’s attention, however, was that he tried to get into the convertible next to Siddaramaiah who was campaigning for Sowmya Reddy near Madiwala in the city’s southeast. Grab that gun.

A video from the campaign showed the man with a gun on his waist garlanding congressional leaders in a truck.

With a standard code of conduct already in place, the incident has raised eyebrows and raised several questions about breaches of safety protocols. Once the regulations are implemented, all firearms will have to be surrendered to their respective police stations and any exemption will only be available with an exemption license. After the election, the weapons will be returned to their rightful owners.

Vijayendra Yediyurappa, son of former chief minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa, took to Twitter to address the incident, saying: “While the electoral code of conduct was in effect, a gun-wielding man approached the chief minister and Congress during the election roadshow Party candidates wore garlands. The developments in the political parties are shocking. It is inexplicable that the police collected weapons from those who obtained firearm licenses for self-defense and kept them with them until the end of the electoral process, but did not The gun confiscated from this person’s hand is a mystery. …Who is this person? His background needs to be investigated. This incident shows that the Congress Party wants to hold elections with such a person… Since the Congress Party came to power, acts of sabotage have occurred frequently, The Election Commission has to take serious action against this incident today. At the same time, the activities of anti-social forces should be closely monitored and all precautions should be taken to achieve peaceful voting.”

Bengaluru South deputy commissioner of police Lokesh said the man has been identified as Riyaz. “The incident occurred near Wilson Gardens. In relation to the weapon, it was a licensed weapon that he had in self-defence as he had been assaulted before. Based on all of this, an investigation is ongoing.”