New Delhi: The BJP and Congress engaged in a caustic war of words in Karnataka on Wednesday over the arrest of a Hindu activist in connection with a 31-year-old case related to the riots that happened during the Ram Janmabhoomi protests in 1992. The saffron party also staged protests as the Congress government justified its action dubbing arrested activist Shrikanth Poojary a criminal suspect with multiple charges.
Several BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka, were taken into preventive custody over their protests, marked by chants of 'Jai Sri Ram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.
Shrikanth Poojary, who the BJP said was a 'karsevak', was arrested last week in connection with a case of violence at Hubballi in north Karnataka in December 1992. According to police, the arrest was part of a routine process to track down accused persons in long-pending cases.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah slammed the BJP, saying the leaders of the Opposition party need to understand that assigning caste and religious labels to criminals is extremely dangerous.
"If any BJP leaders have a little wisdom, they should please read out the list of charges against this person from Hubballi and then decide whether to fight for him. Since Hindus are the majority in the population, they are also the majority in prisons. Does that mean BJP should fight for all of them because they belong to the Hindu religion,” PTI quoted the chief minister as saying.
Who Is Shrikanth Poojary?
According to Hubballi Police, 51-year-old Shrikanth Poojary has been booked under 16 cases over the last 31 years. A total of three cases were booked on him for allegedly triggering riots and causing hurt. Apart from 1991, he was also reportedly charged with rioting in 1999, 2001 and 2014.
“He (Poojary) has a total of 16 cases against him including three preventive action reports. So that’s the total 13 cases of bootlegging, Matka gambling cases and he is a rowdy sheeter in two police stations,” news agency PTI quoted Hubballi-Dharwad police commissioner Renuka Sukumar as saying.
Hubballi police further claims that Poojary has never appeared before the court. According to local media reports, Poojary has been working as an autorickshaw driver for the last few years.
According to Poojary’s friends, he was a hard-line Hindu activist belonging to Somavamsha Sahasrarjun Kshatriya (SSK) Samaj, News18 reported.
“At the time, he had a small-time business of wholesale distribution of liquor. In the true spirit of Hindutva and being a Kar Sevak, he would always wear saffron colours, shawl, Hindu topi (cap) and a teeka (vermillion mark) on his forehead,” one of his friends told News18.
His friend also claimed that the case filed against Poojary was based on “wrong information”.