BJP leader and rowdy-sheeter Manikanth Rathod was detained by the Kalaburagi District Police ahead of the protest in Chittapur on Wednesday against police negligence in arresting the culprits involved in the murder of Devanand R. Koraba.
Mr. Rathod was detained from an apartment in Kalaburagi and taken to the Madbool Police Station.
The police said that he was taken into preventive detention as he was planning to stage the protest in Chittapur town against police negligence and laxity in arresting the culprits involved in the murder of Koraba.
A case was also booked against Mr. Rathod at Madbool Police Station for airing a “fake” video saying that Congress leader and Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge’s followers are involved in the killing of Koraba.
On an earlier occasion, Mr. Rathod was arrested for violating the model code of conduct during the Assembly elections.
He is facing several criminal cases in Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Vijayapura, Bidar and Bagalkot districts, involving serious crimes such as attempt to murder, narcotics smuggling, illegal transportation of rice meant for Anna Bhagya scheme and criminal intimidation.
He was banished from Kalaburagi for a year by the then Kalaburagi City Police Commissioner Y.S. Ravi Kumar. He, however, secured a stay from the High Court against the police expulsion order.
