Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (JD)

Udupi, Jan 6: "The Congress should clarify that whether it will give promotion to its Brahmavar block Congress secretary Tajuddin or expel him from the party as his son was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials for having links with cooker blast and other cases,” said Raghupati Bhat, MLA Udupi.

Addressing media in Udupi over the arrest of Rihaan Sheikh, an engineering student and a native of Udupi by the NIA, Bhat said, "He has been arrested and shocking information is coming out. We had suspicion of such secret operations in coastal districts from the very beginning. I urge the NIA to concentrate deep on the coastal districts.

“Tajuddin, father of Rihaan is the current general secretary of Brahmavar block Congress and is a close aid of former chief minister Siddaramaiah, state Congress president D K Shivakumar and also of MLA U T Khader. In such a case, the Congress should take responsibility. The party should answer whether it will promote Tajuddin as state secretary or it will expel him from the party. Photographs are also available of Tajuddin and Congress leaders together.

“We had received complaints against the accused's mother who is a lecturer at government first grade college, Thenknidiyoor. She was accused of speaking against nationalism and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I had written to education minister Nagesh to inquire the matter and also had attached a CD containing her conversion with the students.

“In addition, many locals had noticed sudden changes in their lifestyle. As per many, Tajuddin was completely in financial loss. He had sold his house too. But very recently, he bought a new flat and was economically well off," he said.