A file photo of Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat.
| Photo Credit: H.S. MANJUNATH

The Bantwal Rural Police on Monday booked Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat for allegedly delivering hate speech. A statement here said that Mr. Bhat had delivered the speech at the Madhwa Palace marriage hall in Kavalapadur village of Bantwal taluk on May 12, at a programme held to condole the recent murder of a youth in the district. While addressing about 500 people, the accused had delivered an inciting address that could spoil the social health and create enmity between communities, police said.

As the speech could affect the law and order situation in the district, police booked Mr. Bhat under Section 353 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita (BNS). The provision prescribes up to three years of imprisonment and a fine for making, publishing, or circulating any statement or report containing false information, rumours, or alarming news that could create or promote hatred or ill will between communities.

Booked for unlawful assembly

The Kadaba Police on Sunday booked 12 persons for holding a protest in front of the police station without permission.

Opposing the police action, accused Pramod Rai, Sharath, Shreyath, Tilak from Nandugiri, Mohan from Kerekodi, Chandrashekhar, Umesh, Deekaiah from Noojibalthila, Mahesh and Sujith from Kutrupady, K. Radhakrishna, Jayanth, and three others held a protest in front of the station building, the police said.

Dakshina Kannada district SP K. Arun, in a video message, stated that the police were verifying the leaders of various organisations in the district in order to maintain law and order. After analysing a spree of murders in the district for the last 10 years, it was noticed that many of the accused were related to communal organisations, he said.

Therefore, the police decided to track their location and movement on a regular basis. Preventive action was the prerogative of the police, and anyone obstructing this would be dealt with according to the law. The process would continue till normalcy is restored in the district, he added.