A week after the the Karnataka Assembly sentenced Kannada journalist Ravi Belagere to one year imprisonment, the editor of Hai Bengaluru continued to evade arrest, getting himself admitted to the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences in Hubballi.
After being discharged from SDM Medical College Hospital in Dharwad, Ravi Belagere got himself admitted to the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) hospital in the wee hours of Tuesday.
Belagere had complained of chest pain and is suffering from low blood pressure and diabetes, when he was admitted to SDM Hospital.
Doctors attending on him at KIMS said that Belagere is not in a critical condition but is suffering from other ailments including liver problem.
“Heavy dose of medicines were administered on him, which is why he has not yet woken up. We expect him to recover in the next 24 hours,” said KIMS medical superintendent Shivappa V Anurshettru.
Meanwhile, Vidyagiri Police in Dharwad, have registered a complaint against Belagere’s son, Karna.
Vajramuni, sub-inspector of Subrahmanyapura Police Station in Bengaluru, who has filed a complaint against Karna in the Dharwad Police Station, said that Karna helped his father escape from the hospital before the police could arrest Belagere.
“Karna and two of his associates have been charged with obstructing police in executing government orders and also for helping a suspect escape,” SI Vajramuni added.
The sub-inspector and his team of officers were charged with taking Belagere into custody. In his complaint, SI Vajramuni said that his team had gone to SDM Medical College Hospital to arrest Belagere on Monday night.
“Karna, along with assistant Lokesh and a driver named Basavaraj, prevented us from arresting Belagere and helped him get away. The three men were detained and questioned by the police, after which they were released on bail,” SI Vajramuni added.
While Belagere managed to evade arrest, Anil Raju, the editor of Yelahanka Voice who was also sentenced to one year jail term by the Assembly, is still at large.
The two journalists were sentenced last Wednesday for allegedly “defamatory writings” against Congress MLA BM Nagaraj and BJP MLA SR Viswanath.