A particular courtroom for folks’s representatives has handed an order to carry a probe towards rural growth and panchayati raj minister KS Eshwarappa over alleged provocative statements made by him following homicide of Bajrang Dal employee Harsha Jingade.
The courtroom has requested police personnel of Doddapete station in Shivamogga district to carry the probe and file a report back to it.
Eshwarappa is but to answer HT’s calls and messages for a response on the police investigation.
HT had earlier reported that Eshwarappa and different BJP leaders disregarded repeated warnings by the Shivamogga district administration towards finishing up a funeral procession for Harsha on February 21. Anticipating communal unrest after Bajrang Dal activist Harsha’s homicide on February 20, the district administration imposed prohibitory orders, which have been disregarded by the minister and different BJP leaders.
With little assist, the district administration turned mute spectators to the violence that adopted the funeral procession. The Fast Motion Power (RAF) — which is often stationed in close by Bhadravathi — was deployed for the Uttar Pradesh election, forcing a delay with a stand-in group being introduced in from Chennai.
The grievance towards Eashwarappa acknowledged that the minister and the second accused — Shivamogga corporator Channabasappa — “propagated publicly that the homicide of Harsha occurred attributable to political and non secular causes”.
In a press convention on the time, Eshwarappa had prompt that Harsha’s killers have been Muslims, and had stated that such “goondaism” wouldn’t be allowed in Shivamogga.
The grievance additionally acknowledged that such statements have been made by Eshwarappa with the intention of making enmity between Hindus and Muslims, and demanded that the minister be booked beneath Sections 124(a) [bringing or attempting to bring hatred by words], 153(a) [promoting enmity between groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth etc], 153(b), 295(a) [deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings] and 504 [intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace] of the Indian Penal Code.
The complainant, Riyaz Ahamed of the Shivamogga Peace Group, stated he had approached police and senior police officer to lodge the grievance, nonetheless, no motion was taken. This compelled him to file a personal grievance within the courtroom.
Acknowledging the complainant’s plea, the courtroom stated: “The complainant has lodged a grievance earlier than the Jurisdictional Police Station, however no motion was taken. The complainant has additionally lodged a grievance on this regard to the upper authorities additionally, however no motion was taken.
The complainant has additionally filed his affidavit stating that he has lodged the grievance and no motion is taken by police. As such, the complainant has filed this personal grievance with the prayer of referring the grievance beneath 156(3) of CrPC for investigation.”
Announcing the judgment, the courtroom stated: “This grievance is referred to SHO of Doddapete Police Station, Shivamogga beneath part 156(3) of CrPC for investigation.”
Eshwarappa is already dealing with warmth after a contractor from Karnataka wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming Eshwarappa demanded bribe. Santosh Ok Patil, a Belagavi-based contractor, in a letter to Modi and union rural growth and panchayati raj minister Giriraj Singh, has alleged that Eshwarappa and his associates are harassing him for “fee” to clear payments which might be pending for nearly a yr.
