Thanks to dysfunctional metal detector, Justice Shetty’s attacker walked in with ease

On Wednesday in a shocking incident, Justice P Vishwanath Shetty, the Lokayukta of Karnataka was stabbed in his office which is located a little over 100 meters from the Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru.

Looking at the manner in which the incident took place, it was clear that there was a complete security lapse. He managed to enter the Lokayukta's office situated in the MS building with a dagger. He passed through a metal detector without being detected. The reason being the metal detector was non-functional.

The Lokayukta handles some of the most sensitive cases. In such an event it is quite ironic that the attacker was able to enter the building and also reach the Lokayukta's office with a dagger undetected. For one, the metal detector was not working. Secondly, he was not frisked by the security personnel.

Justice Santhosh Hegde, former Lokayukta of Karnataka says that security has always been a concern and he had raised this several times during his tenure. Justice Hegde tells OneIndia that it goes on to show how lax the security is. It is surprising that a person in such high office has been attacked with such ease.

Justice Hegde also adds that the Lokayukta's office is a public office and it is bound to have a lot of people. This, however, does not mean that security must be compromised. I have learnt that there are several instances when people have passed through without even making an entry in the registry.

If one looks at the log entry made by Tejraj Sharma the accused, he had stated that he was an advocate. However, the police had revealed that he was a furniture shop owner from Tumkur. According to the log, he had entered the premises at around 12.45 pm under the pretext of meeting the assistant registrar of enquiries.

Investigations suggested that he was walking around the Lokayukta's office for some time. He is said to have barged into the chamber during the lunch break and stabbed Justice Shetty thrice.

OneIndia News