MANGALURU: Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, a prominent activist and the president of Rashtriya Hindu Jagarana Vedike, was arrested by Udupi police on Thursday, August 21, in connection with a complaint filed against him for allegedly making derogatory remarks about BJP national general secretary B.L. Santhosh.
The arrest follows a complaint lodged by Rajiv Kulal, the president of the Udupi Rural BJP Mandal, at the Brahmavar police station. Kulal’s complaint accuses Thimarodi of making personal and defamatory comments against Santhosh during an interview on a YouTube channel. The police have registered a case against Thimarodi under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for statements conducive to public mischief and intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace.
Thimarodi, who has been a vocal figure in the “Justice for Sowjanya” campaign and an activist demanding an investigation into alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala, was taken into custody from his residence in Ujire, Dakshina Kannada district. His arrest was met with protests from his supporters who gathered and chanted slogans.
Following his arrest, Thimarodi was produced before a magistrate’s court in Brahmavar and was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody. The activist has claimed that the arrest is a conspiracy to halt the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged mass burials. He has stated that the government and the BJP will be responsible if anything untoward happens to him.
This development is the latest in a series of legal actions against Thimarodi, who also faces a separate case for allegedly accusing Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of committing 28 murders, a claim that caused an uproar in the state’s legislative assembly.
