Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
Hindutva activist and cow vigilante Puneeth Kerehalli was placed under preventive arrest and remanded to judicial custody after refusing to give an undertaking that he would desist from criminal, communal and anti-social activities.
According to a police statement, “Puneeth Kerehalli, who is already accused in 14 serious cases and is constantly involved in criminal acts, was registered as a precautionary measure on 10/09/2025 by Basavanagudi Police under Section 127 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to prevent further criminal acts.”
Section 127 of the BNSS empowers an Executive Magistrate to demand a bond for good behaviour from a person found disseminating material or engaging in activities that can incite disorder or harm public peace. If the person refuses to give this bond, the magistrate can order judicial custody for up to one year.
Puneeth was produced before the Special Executive Magistrate, South Division, Bengaluru City, and asked to assure that he would not disturb public peace or societal harmony. However, “since he refused to give an undertaking, the Special Executive Magistrate has ordered his judicial custody,” the statement added.
According to reports, the police said that Kerehalli’s refusal to refrain from anti-social activities led directly to his arrest and judicial remand. The accused, who resides on KR Road in Bengaluru, runs the Rashtra Rakshana Pade, a group known for cow vigilantism.
Kerehalli is also the main accused in the March 2023 murder of cattle transporter Idrees Pasha in Ramanagara. He routinely intercepts cattle transport vehicles and uploads videos of these incidents on social media. His group has campaigned for the boycott of Muslim vendors near temples and opposed the sale of halal meat in Karnataka. Photographs have shown him with senior BJP leaders in the state.
He has maintained that his actions are legitimised under the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, which prohibits cattle transport for slaughter but makes exceptions for buffaloes over 13 years of age and terminally ill cattle. While transporting cattle for sale to other states remains legal, vigilante groups such as his have frequently targeted such vehicles.