The Hindu

Mangalore, Apr 11: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate for the Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency, Nalin Kumar Kateel, was granted anticipatory bail by the First Class Judicial Magistrate here on Wednesday in a case related to inflammatory speech allegedly delivered by him at Sullia on February 12 during a Hindu Janajagruti Samiti meet.

The bail was granted to Mr. Kateel and 11 of his associates and co-accused in the private complaint filed by K.S. Umar, president of the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (now Popular Front of India). Mr. Kateel and his associates have been granted bail on the condition that they do not leave the area falling under the court’s jurisdiction during the bail period.

They have been asked to appear before the investigating officer every 15 days until they became eligible to seek regular bail. Suryanarayana Bhat, lawyer representing the erstwhile Karnataka Forum for Dignity, had moved the court after the Sullia police had not registered a case against Mr. Kateel for his alleged inflammatory speech.

The court had admitted the private complaint lodged by the forum, and subsequently, directed the Sullia police to register cases against Mr. Kateel under various sections of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Jagadeesh Karanth, member of the Hindu Jagarana Vedike, was the main accused in the case, and Mr. Kateel the second accused.

The accused included president of the Sullia unit of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad Shrinidhi Hegde, president of the Sullia unit of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh Gopalakrishna Bhat, and the local leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh P.K. Umesh.