The police here on Friday registered a case against BJP Lok Sabha member from Udupi-Chickmagalur Shobha Karandlaje for spreading communal hatred in society in the name of a false incident. A case was also registered against four workers of the Seva Bharati for causing communal division.
The cases were registered at the Kuttippuram police station under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code. The section deals with promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.
Ms. Karandlaje had tweeted that Hindus of Kuttippuram grama panchayat in Malappuram were denied water supply as they supported the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). She further tweeted that Kerala was taking baby steps to become another Kashmir. Her tweet, shared widely across the country by the BJP and its sympathisers, had kicked up a row, bringing a Muslim family of Payinkannur in Kuttippuram in the Sangh Parivar’s line of fire.
The police conducted an investigation on the basis of a complaint filed by lawyer K.R. Subhash Chandran and found that the allegations of denying water to Hindus for supporting the CAA were false. “It was found to be a false allegation made with the intention of creating communal embitterment,” said District Superintendent of Police U. Abdul Kareem.
BJP district president Ravi Thelath criticised the police for taking action against Ms. Karandlaje. He said it exposed the true nature of the police. “The BJP knows how to handle it,” he said.
‘‘A case is taken against the Seva Bharati workers who provided water. They were providing water and not creating any communal division,” he said.
But the police said the case was not for providing water, but for spreading enmity. The banner used by the Seva Bharati on the tanker they used for water supply had read: “Seva Bharati's help for the Cherukunnu colony residents who have been denied drinking water for supporting CAA.”
The State police will write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla informing him of the criminal case being charged against Ms. Karandlaje. The police cannot arrest an MP without the permission of the Speaker.
