Delay in arresting Amarnath embarassing BJP

GULBARGA: The delay in arresting HKADB president Amarnath Patil, also state unit BJP general secretary, is turning out to be an embarrassment to the state government.The embarrassment was evident with the commencement of deliberations of Gulbarga district Minister Basavaraj Bommai with senior BJP leaders, district officers and senior journalists on Thursday.According to sources, the minister is said to have confided to those he spoke to on the issue saying that the damage has already been inflicted to the government as well as to the BJP and that it is worsening due to delay in arresting Amarnath Patil a week after booking an atrocity case against him.It is a common opinion that the matter which was personal between Amarnath Patil and the complainant Srimant Pattedar for two days has started taking caste hue with the participation of Dalit organisations in the issue.Dalit organisations which initially demanded Patil’s arrest, later included Gulbarga DC in the issue, alleging that the DC was supporting Patil; they have made the district administration their second target.On Thursday, Lingayat organisations submitted a memorandum to both the DC as well as to the SP asking them to ensure that the issue does not become a castebased one.Sources said that Bommai contacted Patil on Friday and suggested to him to surrender, to which he did not respond. Since then, Patil has remained incognito to the minister and to everyone.It is said that Bommai has made known the stand of the government that it would not protect anybody illegally.Amarnath Patil should surrender first, the minister told Patil’s followers.Sources said the district minister personally called on Gulbarga SP Praveen Pawar and instructed him to make all efforts to arrest Patil.