Threat calls to Mallikarjun Kharge, son: Congress

An unidentified person had allegedly made threat calls to senior Karnataka Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and his son Priyank, a party official said on Wednesday.

"Priyank has filed a complaint with the state police on Monday that he received threat calls on early Sunday from an unidentified person who warned Kharge to stay away from contesting in the June 19 Rajya Sabha biennial elections in the state," party's state unit official M.A. Saleem told here.

The state Director General Police (DGP) office, however, did not confirm to receiving Priyank's complaint. The city cyber crime police also said it was yet to receive the complaint to register and investigate.

Kharge (77) filed his nomination in the Vidhana Soudha (state legislature building) on Monday to contest in the bypoll as the only Congress candidate in the southern state.

"Besides abusing Kharge and his son in filthy language, the caller also threatened to finish off father and son," Saleem asserted.

The caller spoke to Priyank in Hindi and English.

Kharge and Priyank stay in the upscale Sadashivnagar area in the city's northwest suburb.

"There was a call to our landline around 01.30-1.40 a.m. on Sunday when I was asleep and my son (Priyank) received it. I thought it may be a call regarding the Rajya Sabha election but I learnt later that it was a threat call to us from an unknown number," Kharge told news channels here on Wednesay.

Kharge advised Priyank to lodge a complaint with the police against the caller for investigation.

Priyank is a legislator from Chittapur assembly segment in Kalaburagi district in the state's northern region.

( With inputs from IANS )