Chief Minister Siddaramaiah justified the arrest of Srikanth Poojari, a kar sevak (volunteer) who was allegedly involved in violence after the Babri masjid demolition in 1992, in Hubballi. He said that wrongdoers cannot be spared, and the action did not stem from vendetta.
“What should be done to offenders? Can they be allowed to go scot-free? We have asked the police to dispose of old cases. We don’t resort to hate politics. The police have acted upon the directions of the court. We never do anything that would lead to the arrest of innocents,” Mr Siddaramaiah said in his brief interaction with journalists at Basapur airstrip in Koppal on January 2.
Hubballi Dharwad Police Commissioner Renuka Sukumar has said that the arrest of Srikanth Poojari in connection with a case of violence in Hubballi on December 5, 1992, is part of a routine process to trace accused persons in long-pending cases.
