Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde claims he was target of failed assassination bid

Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde claimed he was the target of a failed assassination bid on Tuesday after a car in his convoy was involved in an accident in Karnataka’s Haveri district. He said there was a “deliberate attempt” on his life and claimed that a truck tried to ram into his car but hit a vehicle which was part of his convoy. One of his support staff suffered a fractured shoulder, he said.

Hegde said the truck driver — identified by him as Nasir — was caught by locals and did not seem to be in an inebriated condition. He tweeted a video of the incident, adding that it showed it was “quite evident” that he was “purposefully” targeted.

“A deliberate attempt on my life seems to have been executed just now. A truck on NH, near Halageri in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri district has hit my escort vehicle which tried to hit my vehicle in the first instance. Since our vehicle was in top speed we escaped the hit,” Hegde said, “However our support staff in the escort vehicle has suffered severe injuries in the form of shoulder fracture.”

Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said he will ask the state police to probe the incident.