An FIR has been lodged against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and editors of two Kannada news portals for allegedly spreading false information linking a farmer's suicide to a Waqf land dispute. Surya, in a since-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), had claimed that a farmer named Rudrappa Channappa Balikai from Haveri district died by suicide after his land was allegedly “taken over” by the Waqf board. He further accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan of causing widespread distress among farmers through what he described as "catastrophic effects."
The FIR was filed following a clarification from the Haveri Superintendent of Police, who stated that Balikai’s suicide in January 2022 was not related to any land dispute, as reported by India Today. However, he stated that Balikai's suicide was due to debt burdens and crop failure.
In a post on X, SP Haveri confirmed the facts, stating, "The news shared is false. No such incident reported. The farmer mentioned here, Rudrappa Channappa Balikai suicide case was reported on 06/01/2022 and it was reported to be due to loan and crop loss. Case was registered u/s 174 CrPC in Adur PS. Final report was already submitted."
Responding to the tweet, Surya said, "Thanks for the information. The tweet stands deleted. I will henceforth not rely on the news agency that reported it. Given the rampant amount of WAQF conversion notices to 1000s of farmers across the State, one is easily led to believe such outcomes."