Mangaluru, Aug 31: A Bajrang Dal activist from Bantwal taluk in the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada was arrested by police a day after he openly justified the assassination of a veteran scholar of Karnataka and issued a veiled terror attack threat against another rationalist thinker.
Even though Mr Shetty, who claims to be the co-convener of Bajrang Dal in Bantwal taluk, deleted his pro-terrorism tweets, Bantwal police on Sunday evening registered a suo motu case against him under IPC sections 153 and 506 after the state home department asked the Dakshina kannada police to consider the issue seriously. However, he was the not charged with terrorism, police sources said.
When Mr Shetty’s tweet went viral on Sunday, an activist called Nilim Dutta had written a letter to the additional chief secretary of the Karnataka home department urging action against him.
Terror tweets
He tweeted at 10:41 a.m. on Sunday: “Then it was UR Anantamoorty and now its MM Kalburgi. Mock Hinduism and die a dogs death. And dear KS Bhagwan you are next”(sic). The same person had tweeted on July 15 this year: “You should know that I myself chopped off one Muslim’s hand for smuggling cows in Kalladka” (sic)
Both the tweets were retweeted by many tiwtterati triggering a heated debated on social media. Some right wing social media activists even defended his provocative comments. When the matter was brought to the notice of authorities, the man deleted his tweets. However, the screenshots of his tweets continued to go viral on social media.
Prof. Kalburugi, the former vice chancellor of Hampi University, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman at the former’s residence in Dharwad in the morning. Hindutva activists had warned him of dire consequences after he raised his voice against blind beliefs in Hindu society and criticised idol worship.
Also Read: Bajrang Dal activist defends killing of MM Kalburgi, says Prof. Bhagawan is next target
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