BJP worker arrested for ‘Pak zindabad’ slogan in Dec 2022 in Karnataka’s Mandya

Mandya SP N Yetish said the Mandya West Police arrested Danayakapura Ravi and were looking Aradhya following the registration of a FIR

BENGALURU: A 34-year-old activist of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been arrested in Karnataka’s Mandya district in connection with allegations that some people also raised “Pakistan zindabad” slogans at a BJP protest in December 2022, a Mandya district police officer said.

The case pertains to a BJP protest in December 2022 against then Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Videograb)

Mandya superintendent of police (SP) N Yetish said Danayakapura Ravi has been arrested in connection with a first information report (FIR) registered by the Mandya West Police following a recent complaint by a Congress worker Kannambadi Kumar on the 2022 protest.

According to the police, the BJP protest was organised at Mandya’s Sanjay Circle on December 22, 2022, over then-Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which were described by the BJP as “highly derogatory and defamatory”. Apart from slogans to denounce Pakistan and its government raised at the protest, some people are also accused of raising “Pakistan zindabad” slogans instead of “Pakistan murdabad”.

Police said the FIR in the Mandya case was registered after an uproar over some Congress workers raising “Pakistan zindabad” slogans while celebrating the victory of Syed Naseer Hussain in the Rajya Sabha elections on February 27 evening. Videos of the celebrations with Hussain’s supporters cheering for him went viral on the internet, and allegations also surfaced that the “Pakistan zindabad” slogan was heard.

On Monday, the Bengaluru police said three people were arrested for raising the slogans. “Based on the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, circumstantial evidence, witness statements and available proof, three persons have been arrested,” the city police said in a statement late in the evening.

Yetish said Danayakapura Ravi of the BJP would be produced before the local court on Tuesday and efforts were being made to arrest Aradhya, another person named in the FIR, among others. The investigation is on, he said, adding that the FIR was registered under sections 153B (statements threatening national integrity) and 505 (statements causing public mischief).

Mandya district BJP unit president Indresh attacked the authorities for registering the FIR 14 months after the alleged event. ‘’It is an act of vengeance by the Congress government. The video clip clearly shows that Ravi raised the Pakistan slogan mistakenly and confusingly, but the Congress is doing this for politics. ‘’ Indresh told HT.