A local court granted bail to Harohalli Ravindra, a Dalit activist from Mysuru, who was facing charges for posting a message on social media that allegedly insulted Hindu Gods.
A team of officers had gone to Mysuru to arrest Mr. Ravindra and he was brought to Chikkodi on Saturday morning.
Mr. Ravindra told journalists in Kagwad that he does know under what case he was arrested. “I do not remember what social media post is being referred to. I am very active on social media. I keep posting several messages every day,’’ he said.
The court has asked him to cooperate with the investigation, to appear before the court whenever required and not to attempt destruction of evidence, said a police officer.
The arrest was made in Mysuru on Friday in connection with a message that was reportedly posted in 2017. A case was filed in Chikkodi following a post by Mr. Ravindra in which he allegedly insulted Hindu Gods. A case has been booked under IPC 295 ( Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class). The maximum punishment provided under the code is two years imprisonment and fine.
The local court issued a non bailable warrant in this case. “For five years, investigators had been filing a charge sheets, identifying the accused as absconding. But he has now been traced in Mysuru and held, a police officer said. Officers maintain that the accused was sent a notice in 2019. But he had not attended the court till now. Hence, the arrest,” an officer said.
Chandrashekar Bapu Munde, Hindutva activist, had filed the complaint against Mr. Ravindra in 2017. In response to a statement by Ananth Kumar Hegde, MP and BJP leader, that said that secularists were “orphans who had neither father nor mother”, Mr. Ravindra had related a story from the Bhagawata where Lord Krishna is described as a boy who is brought up by his non-biological parents. This had angered Hindutva activists who filed a case.
