Mahasabha state chief arrested over extortion charges, say cops

According to police, Hindu Mahasabha’s Karnataka state president Pavithran (42) tried to extort gold and cash from Suresh by threatening to make his information public.

The Surathkal police on Wednesday arrested Hindu Mahasabha’s Karnataka state president Rajesh Pavithran on the charges of threatening to leak the private information of a businessman on social media. He was later released on bail.

The Surathkal police on Wednesday arrested Hindu Mahasabha’s Karnataka state president Rajesh Pavithran (Representative use)

According to police, Pavithran (42) tried to extort gold and cash from Suresh by threatening to make his information public.

Suresh, a resident of Kavoor in Mangaluru, decided to do business with Pavithran on a partnership basis. After he came to know about Pavithran’s dubious business deals, he opted out, police said.

Enraged by his withdrawal from the business, Pavithran took away Suresh’s laptop and threatened to make his information public if he did not yield to the demand for gold and cash, according to police.

The accused also threatened to break Suresh’s legs and hands.

Meanwhile, the police also a registered case against Dr Sanija on the accusation of aiding Pavithran.

“It looks like unknown forces are behind this. The Hindu Mahasabha is growing rapidly across the state. With elections around the corner, it looks like these people involved in this conspiracy are scared that this might affect the election results,” Hindu Mahasabha leader, Dharmendra, told reporters on Thursday.

“Rajesh was arrested without any notice by the police. His family was also given no intimation regarding his arrest. A person who is the state president of Hindu Mahasabha and had businesses in the heart of Surathkal was given no notice. What kind of a system is this?” Dharmendra said.

“Let the police file 100 cases against us. There are attempts to lodge petty cases against us. This is an attempt to thwart us. Hindu Mahasabha will give unexpected results in the upcoming elections and teach a lesson to the ruling BJP,” he added.