Karnataka MLC Basavaraj Horatti was allegedly threatened and abused by an Army man while he was travelling to Hubballi on the Rani Chennamma Express
Bengaluru: You would have watched movies in which gun-toting policemen or maybe, even dacoits would hold people ransom at gunpoint.
But what if we tell you that such reel stories do happen in real? Sounds confused?
Basavaraj Horatti is a Karnataka JD(S) MLC. On June 14, he was travelling on Rani Chennamma Express train, from Bengaluru to Hubballi. As he travelled, he kept watching a video on his mobile phone. And as he did, the man sitting upstairs, an alleged soldier of the Belagavi regiment, asked him to reduce the volume. He did.
A little later, the alleged Army man asked the MLC to shut off the lights. He allegedly kicked up a row with the MLC till 1 am. Such was the ruckus created that the other passengers lost their sleep.
So, Horatti wanted to contact the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) and seek the details of the travelling soldier. But at this crucial juncture, the soldier is reported to have blurted out, “You bloody politician, I can shoot you dead if I make up my mind right now. You want to collect my details. Do whatever you want with them.”
The alleged soldier later alighted at the Hubballi railway station and sped away.
The MLC lodged a complaint with the railway police on June 18. The Hubballi and Bengaluru police are working overtime to hunt down the accused.
Incidentally, one other person, a former IAS officer and a resident of Haveri, Mallikarjun was also travelling along with the MLC. He too was abused by the man in question.
When MyNation tried contacting Basavaraj, he remained incommunicado.
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