An incident of hate politics: Ivan D’Souza

Mangaluru: House of a Member of Legislative Council Ivan D’Souza was stoned by unidentified groups of youth, late at night on Wednesday. D’Souza was in Bengaluru, and his wife Kavita, two daughters, and her brother were at the house in Valencia, an uptown area in Mangaluru when the attack took place.

The family recalled that it was at about 11.15-11.30 pm when two rounds of stone pelting had been done. The incident is believed to be linked to a controversial statement made by D’Souza against the governor during a recent protest in Mangalore, which was connected to ongoing legal proceedings against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Two individuals wearing helmets and riding a motorcycle threw stones at D’Souza’s house before fleeing the scene. Just minutes before the incident, D’Souza’s wife, Kavita, had parked her car outside the house and gone inside. The first stone-pelting occurred shortly thereafter, with a second round of stones being thrown within a few minutes.

One of the daughters witnessed the second attack from an upstairs window. It is suspected that the same individuals were responsible for both attacks.A police team from Pandeshwar police station promptly responded to the scene and is currently reviewing footage from nearby CCTV cameras as part of their investigation.

“It is an act of hate politics and silencing the leaders who go against the establishments. I will not be given in to such tactics, and as a protest, I, accompanied by my party followers and people who believe in an apolitical system cutting across religion, party, and other affiliations, will march from my home in Valencia to the BJP’s office in Kodialbail to a distance of 5 kilometres on Friday,” Ivan told Hans India.