Kar sevak Shrikant Poojary arrested: Discrepancies between Hubbali-Dharwad police and Karnataka Home dept versions raise suspicion over intent of arrest

A report by News18 citing documents released by the Karnataka Home Department says that Poojary was summoned by the police in 2004, 2009 and 2018 thereby quashing the claim of the Hubbali-Dharwad police that Poojary was absconding

While the Hubbali-Dharwad Police in Karnataka has claimed that arrested kar sevak Shrikant Poojary had been absconding since 1992 when the case was filed, government documents reveal that he had been fined and even summoned several times in the past.

A report by News18 citing documents released by the Karnataka Home Department says that Poojary was summoned by the police in 2004, 2009 and 2018 prompting the question that why an arrest wasn’t made then.

According to the News18 report, Poojary was also asked to give an undertaking at the police station for good behaviour whenever there was a precautionary arrest under 107 of CrPC. Moreover, Poojary was also reporedly fined multiple times under the Karnataka Police Act.

The report alleges that the Hubbali-Dharwad Police knew about the whereabouts of Shrikant Poojary. This thereby reveals a huge inconsistency in the case of the arrest of Shrikant Poojary.

As per reports, Poojary was booked in 16 cases in the past 31 years including pertaining to riots in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992.

A case was filed in 1992 at the Hubbali town policestaion for rioting and other offences under Sections 143, 147, 436, 427 of IPC. In 2006, the case was designated as long pending by a court.

According to Hubli-Dharwad City Police Commissioner Renuka K Sukumar, the action is part of a routine drive to clear long-pending cases.

An official quoted by News18 said, “The investigations into long-pending cases or LPCs began and we found that Poojary was the one we could categorise under absconding, so he was picked up and arrested.”

Sanjeev Bhadaskar, Counsel of Shrikant Poojary, while speaking to Republic TV said that Poojary has been living in the same city in Karnataka since the past 31 years.

In view of the above information, the timing of Poojary’s arrest has come into question. Since Poojary was named in the Hubbali 1992 riots case in 1992 itself and with the state government documents revealing that Poojary had given undertaking for good behaviour and had not left the city, the BJP has asked why was the arrest now made in the case in the past 30+ years?

Karnataka BJP has been protesting across the state to protest Poojary’s arrest. BJP leader CT Ravi staged a protest outside he town police station in Chikmagalur.

In a statement, Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra accused the Congress-led government of being anti-Hindu. He said, “Karnataka government is proving again and again that it is an anti-Hindu government. Yesterday in Hubballi, they reopened a 31-year-old case, and Hindu worker Srikant Poojari was arrested; we strongly condemn this.”

Simultaneously, BJP MLA and general secretary V Sunil Kumar was detained by police for staging a protest in Bengaluru. Kumar held a placard that read, “I am Kar Sewak; arrest me”, after which the police detained him.

The protests comes a day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah justified the action saying that it did not stem from vendetta. Speaking to the media in Koppal, he said, “His involvement in the violence after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 in Hubli was found during investigations, and the arrest was not an action that stemmed from vendetta.”

Meanwhile, Poojary’s son has said that his father had cleared his name years ago. “I don’t know why they have raked this issue up now,” he was quoted by News18. Poojary continues to reside at his ancestral house and drives an auto to earn a living.

Notably, the controversial action by the Karnataka government against the kar sevak comes just days ahead of the much-awaited Ram Mandir inauguration and Pran Pratishtha ceremony on 22nd January. The action against the kar sevak by the Congress government in Karnataka is being questioned in the backdrop of this event.

Two years after they were murdered in cold blood in 1990 by the SP government, another batch of kar sevaks on 6 December 1992 demolished the Babri masjid paving the way for the development of Ram Mandir on Ram Janmabhoomi.