Three days after Mangaluru-based social activist Vidya Dinker complained against Bajrang Dal activists, who issued rape and death threats to her on Facebook, Dakshina Kannada district police arrested one person on Saturday.
Puneeth Kottari, the right-wing activist who was arrested was one among 20 others who were named in Dinker’s complaint on December 24 at Mangaluru south-east police, reported TOI.
In her complaint, she said that she said obscene messages were posted on the Facebook page threatening to attack- including acid attacks, rape and murder her.
The right-wing activists abused the social activist for lodging a complaint against the right-wing member who protested against the screening of Shah Rukh starrer Dilwale in Mangaluru theatres.
Sharan Pumpwell, state president of Bajrang Dal told The News Minute on Wednesday that the activists only requested the theatre owners not to screen Shah Rukh Khan’s film and that Dinker’s claims are baseless.
"We did not cause any physical damage as Vidya Dinker claims. The theatre owners themselves respected our sentiments and agreed to stop the screening," said Pumpwell.
However, Balakrishna Shetty director of Big Cinemas, one of the three multiplexes where the screening was stalled told TNM that though the activists only requested them to stop screening, they feared the potential of Bajrang Dal members to cause physical damage.
She had also requested police to take suo muto action considering the "climate of fear" that the right-wing activists were creating in the district.
On Friday evening, six Bajrang Dal members, who were involved in stalling of the movie were arrested by Pandarpur police.
“Ganesh Bejappagowda, Chandrashekar Gopalgowda, Rakesh Mohangowda, Mutthuraj, Prashanth Chandra Poojary and Rakesh were arrested and are all in their early 20s. They were released on bail as they were held under a bailable offence,” said the police.