Six Including Pramod Mutalik Arrested for Assaulting B'lore Univ Director

Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Dec 17: Six Sri Rama Sene members including its chief Pramod Mutalik have been arrested for the assault on Prof B R Niranjan, director of correspondence courses and distance education of Bangalore University.

The arrests were made by the police of Ulsoor Gate police station here on Friday December 16 relating to the said incident which occurred at Central College campus at Mysore Bank Circle here.

A gang of Sri Rama Sene activists led by Mutalik is said to have barged into the office of the official before assaulting him with chairs and hands, and ransacking his office. A number of furniture items, as well as a telephone instrument and photocopier, were destroyed because of the ire of the gang members.

The Sene men were angry at the decision of Prof Niranjan not to hold examinations relating to undergraduate courses at certain centres, which were known for harbouring malpractices in the past. While the Sene members insisted on conducting re-examination on December 26, Niranjan is said to have promised them to hold the same in Davangere, Koppal, and Chitradurga district, provided these centres are equipped with CCTV.

Angered by the arrests, activists of Sri Rama Sene held protest in front of Ulsoor Gate police station on Friday. They raised slogans against Bangalore University, its vice chancellor, and Prof Niranjan. This gave rise to an environment tension in the area for some time. The police have registered a case based on a complaint made by university registrar, Mylarappa, and have begun investigation.

Degree examinations conducted in the past by the above department at centres located in Chitradurga, Davangere, Koppal, and some other centres had to be cancelled on account of mass copying. This had given rise to inconvenience and heartburn for many.