Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (SP)
Update
Kundapur, Mar 2: Raghavendra Ganiga, who on Monday March 2 allegedly raised 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans at mini Vidhana Soudha here, has been sent to judicial custody till March 16.
Earlier, sedition charges were slapped against Raghavendra on a case lodged based on a complaint by Kundapur tahsildar.
Raghavendra entered mini Vidhana Soudha here, on Monday morning, and began shouting 'Pakistan Zindabad' repeatedly. He was then taken into custody by local policemen.
Udupi SP stated in a press note that besides 'Pakistan Zindabad', Ganiga also allegedly raised 'Jihad Zindabad' slogans.
Kundapur: Sedition case lodged against man for raising pro-Pakistan slogans at mini Vidhana Soudha
Kundapur, Mar 2: Sedition charges have been slapped against Raghavendra Ganiga, who on Monday March 2 courted controversy after he allegedly raised 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans at mini Vidhana Soudha here.
"He is a resident of Kodi in Kundapur. An FIR has been lodged against him in Kundapur police station. We have lodged a sedition case against him. The matter is under investigation. There is no coherence in Ganiga's statements. We will look into his background. We have no comment to make on his mental state. Once the medical report is ready, we will give further information," Udupi ASP Kumarachandra informed the media.
A press note from Udupi SP also stated that besides 'Pakistan Zindabad', Ganiga also allegedly raised 'Jihad Zindabad' slogans.
The case was lodged based on a complaint by Kundapur tahsildar.
Earlier report
Kundapur: Man shouts 'Pakistan Zindabad' at mini Vidhana Soudha, arrested
Some people seem to have become attracted to the idea of trying to become famous by doing things that are perceived as wrong. After sloganeering in favour of Pakistan was reported from a few places, Kundapur witnessed one such incident on Monday March 2.
A person who entered mini Vidhana Soudha here, a complex having various government offices, on Monday morning, began shouting 'Pakistan Zindabad' repeatedly. The incident happened at around 10 am today. The person who raised these slogans has been taken into custody by the local policemen. He has been identified as Raghavendra Ganiga (43), a resident of Kody near here.
Ganiga arrived at the mini Vidhana Soudha at around 9.45 am on Monday. He then scaled the steps to the building, duly shouting 'Pakistan Zindabad' repeatedly and continued to repeat the slogan as he walked through the corridor. Some locals, who noticed this, recorded this on video and informed the police here. Raghavendra then entered mini Vidhana Soudha from the corridor and continued with his shouting. Kundapur tahisldar, who got information, filed a written complaint against the accused. The police, who took Ganiga into custody, took him away to the police station.
Information now coming in claims that Ganiga is a mentally unstable person. He is married with a small child. He is educated, and was working as a Hindi teacher in a private school in the town eight years back. He however, has separated from his wife and child, and is now living with his mother, the police have learnt. Raghavendra suffers from some psychological disorder and his mother had brought him for treatment to Matha Hospital here, it is said. He escaped from there, entered the mini Vidhana Soudha, and is now in police custody.
It is learnt that Vasu Ganiga couple from Kody had no issues and therefore they had adopted Raghavendra. He reportedly did BEd course in Hindi at Shivamogga and then joined a private school here as Hindi teacher. he later left the job as he could not adjust well. Reportedly Rahavendra's father was operating an Omni car on hire basis for a living and the family needed to spend about Rs 2,500 every month for Raghavendra's treatment. For some time, locals and relatives were meeting cost of his treatment, it is said.
Raghavendra had watched programmes about Amulya and Arudra that were beamed on television relentlessly. Ganiga has the habit of watching TV regularly. His family members feel that he would have found himself in this spot, having been influenced by repeated news about 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans he watched on TV. The police have now taken steps to assess his health condition, and once the report comes, they will start to investigate the other things, said assistant superintendent of police Hariram Shankar.