Belgaum police issues warrant against right-wing leader Sambhaji Bhide

At a public event in Belgaum during the 2018 assembly elections in Karnataka, Bhide had allegedly made a statement related to the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute

A court in Karnataka has issued a warrant against Sangli-based Shiv Pratishthan leader Sambhaji Bhide for alleged breach of the Model Code of Conduct during the last assembly elections.

A court in Karnataka has issued a warrant against Sangli-based Shiv Pratishthan leader Sambhaji Bhide for alleged breach of the Model Code of Conduct during the last assembly elections. (HT/PHOTO)

Lokesh Kumar, Belgaum police commissioner, said Bhide had allegedly made some communal statements and the election officer had registered a ‘miscellaneous criminal case’ (MCC). The warrant was issued on Friday evening, Kumar said.

At a public event in Belgaum during the 2018 assembly elections in Karnataka, Bhide had allegedly made a statement related to the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. He had allegedly urged the people in attendance to vote for candidates who supported the unification of Maharashtra.

A Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court, who is hearing the case, had issued summons to Bhide twice before. However, as he failed to appear during the last hearing held on Friday, the court issued a warrant against him. Bhide is expected to respond to the warrant by March 24, the date for the next hearing in the case.

“His lawyer can show up and call back the warrant or he can appear before March 24, which is the next hearing in the case,” said Kumar.

Kiran Gawade, Belgaum district head of Shiv Pratishthan, the organisation headed by Bhide said that the event in Belgaum where Bhide made the allegedly objectionable comment was a kusti (wrestling) competition. “All he (Sambhaji Bhide) said was that the local MLA who was trying to destroy the kusti ground should be taught a lesson by the people present in the gathering.”

Advocate Shamsundar Pattar, a representative of Bhide said that they will approach the court against the warrant.

Bhide, along with Milind Ekbote, is a co-accused in a case of rioting and attempted murder in the violence that erupted in the Bhima Koregaon area of Pune in January 2018.