According to a Mandya district police officer, a 34-year-old BJP activist was detained in Karnataka’s Mandya district on suspicion that some attendees of the party’s December 2022 protest shouted Pakistan Zindabad. Danatajapura Ravi has been detained in relation to a first information report (FIR) filed by the Mandya West Police in response to a recent complaint by a Congress worker named Kannambadi Kumar regarding the protest in 2022, according to Mandya Superintendent of Police (SP) N. Yetish.
The police claim that on December 22, 2022, the BJP staged a protest at Mandya’s Sanjay Circle in response to comments made by Pakistan’s foreign minister at the time, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP called Zardari’s remarks highly disparaging and libelous. In addition to calling out against Pakistan and its government during the demonstration, some people were also charged with chanting Pakistan zindabad rather than Pakistan murdabad.
Police said that a commotion over some Congress workers shouting Pakistan Zindabad during celebrations of Syed Naseer Hussain’s victory in the Rajya Sabha presidential elections on February 27 led to the filing of a formal complaint in the Mandya case. Videos of the event featuring Hussain’s fans applauding for him went viral online, and claims that the phrase Pakistan Zindabad was uttered also appeared.
According to the Bengaluru police, on Monday, three people were taken into custody for brandishing the sign. The city police announced late in the evening that three people had been arrested based on the findings of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, as well as on the basis of available proof, witness statements, and circumstantial evidence.
Yetish stated that, among other things, attempts were being made to apprehend Aradhya, another individual named in the FIR, and that BJP member Danayakapura Ravi would appear prior to the local court on Tuesday. He added that the FIR was filed under sections 505 (statement causing public mischief) and 153B (assertions threatening national integrity) and that the investigation is ongoing.
Indresh, the president of the BJP unit in Mandya district, blasted the authorities for filing the first complaint 14 months after the alleged incident. It is the Congress’s act of retaliation. Indresh told the media that although the video clip clearly demonstrates Ravi’s careless and confused raising of the Pakistan slogan, the Congress is using it for political purposes.
