Brawl incident; police on look out for MLA Ganesh, says home

: Police are on the lookout for "absconding" Congress MLA J N Ganesh, who is facing a case of attempt to murder for allegedly assaulting his lawmaker colleague Anand Singh during a brawl at private resort here on Saturday night, Home Minister M B Patil said Wednesday.

He said Ganesh, who has been suspended from the Congress, would "not be spared" and would be arrested at the earliest.

"No one is above the law. Already an FIR has been lodged. The party (Congress) also has taken disciplinary action by suspending him.

Police and our department are doing theirduty...we are looking out," Patil told reporters here.

He said Ganesh not having been arrested till now did not mean they "are sitting quiet" and added, "I want to make it clear that there is no interference by anyone.

The government and Home Department are under no pressure. Our department is taking necessary steps. We will not spare him, we will arrest him (Ganesh) at the earliest," he added.

Ganesh and Anand Singh allegedly entered into a brawl at Eagleton Resorts on the city outskirts where the Congress MLAs were herded together to prevent them from BJP's alleged poaching bid to topple the Congress-JDS government.

Patil claimed that the Congress was "instrumental" in registering an FIR and took action against Ganesh after looking at the "heinous" assault on Singh.

"We had all (Congress leaders) gone to meet him (Singh)...we told him and his family to take all necessary action and that the party will not interfere," he said.

Asked why Ganesh had not yet been arrested, he said "...whenever such cases happen, they all (accused) abscond, they take legal advice and abscond, so police face a little difficulty.

But it is not impossible to arrest him. We will arrest him."
We could not arrest him."