Hindu Jagarana Vedike leader, Jagadish Karanth, known for making inflammatory speeches has landed in trouble.
On Friday, a suo motu case was registered against him for allegedly making a provocative speech and passing derogatory comments against a police official at a protest meet in Mangaluru.
Jagadish Karanth has been accused of making “derogatory comments” on the religious identity of Abdul Khader, the inspector of the Puttur Rural Police Station.
According to a senior police official in Dakshina Kannada district, Jagadish Karanth had allegedly made these statements at a protest meet in Puttur on September 15.
“A person named K Aziz had filed a complaint and requested the police to register an FIR. Aziz had stated that Jagadish Karanth had used derisive language against the police officer Abdul Khader and was trying to incite communal hatred,” the officer said.
Karanth has been booked under IPC sections 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and 189 (threat of injury to public servant).
Karanth, in his speech on September 15, hit out against the Circle Inspector of the Puttur Rural Police Station – Abdul Khader, who also goes by the name Khaled.
Alleging that CI Khader had entered the home of a lawyer named Chinmay in Puttur in the middle of the night and “hurled disgust at his religion and his belief”, Jagadish Karanth said, “Chinmay had not been mentioned in any FIR that he had harmed any person. Khaled heard through rumours that Chinmay was involved in hurting people in the name of protecting the cow. If he can barge into Chinmay’s house in the middle of the night and verbally abuse him, why should Khaled not be stripped naked?”
Karanth said that Chinmay was the lawyer of the defendants who had been booked for assaulting members of the Muslim community in the name of cow protection.
“Just because Chinmay defended the accused, Khaled broke all the rules and entered his house. He then verbally abused Chinmay and his parents. If he has the gall to do something like that, then why should he not be stripped naked and made to run around in the bus stop?” he said.
The HJV leader went on to allegedly say, “If he can say that strict action will be taken against us then it is not a difficulty to shave his head, make him sit on a donkey and parade him through the streets of Puttur.”
Alleging that CI Khaled has indulged in “police excess”, Jagadish Karanth accused Khaled of being a member of fringe group Popular Front of India.
TNM tried to contact the CI but could not get his response.
This isn’t the first case against Karath. In March 2013, Sullia police had filed an FIR against the HJV leader after a man named Mohammed Ufaiz filed a complaint stating that he had made derogatory statements against the Muslim community