Mangaluru: Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka minister B Ramanth Rai on Monday demanded an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the communal murders in Dakshina Kannada district during the previous BJP rule.

Addressing reporters here, Rai said BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel has been alleging that the law and order in the state has collapsed even before the Congress government could complete two months of its administration.

He said Kateel is spreading misinformation and trying to create an impression that Congress and the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led government are responsible for the murders.

No Congress leader has ever delivered provocative communal speeches anywhere, Rai asserted.

To clear the confusion being created by the BJP, a probe by an SIT should be conducted into the communal murders in the district including that of Harish Poojary, Vinayak Baliga, Jaleel Karopady, Deepak, Praveen Nettaru, Fazil and Masood, he said.

The party will submit a memorandum to CM Siddaramaiah regarding the demands, he said.