Case in Varanasi against Kamal Haasan for terror remark

News Network
November 4, 2017

Chennai, Nov 4: A day after Kamal Haasan said in his column in a Tamil magazine, which hit the stands on Thursday, that right-wing Hindus have moved from engaging in debates to employing terrorism to propagate their agenda, a case was filed against the actor in Varanasi on Friday.

Haasan has been booked under Sections 500 (punishment for defamation), 511, 298 (hurting religious sentiment), 295-A (intend to outrage religious feelings), and 505-C (attempt to incite hatred enmity between classes) of the Indian Penal Code. The matter will be heard on Saturday.

Expectedly, Haasan's comment in the magazine set off an uproar from Hindutva forces as well as BJP leaders, who have damned him for such an accusation. While senior BJP leader, Vinay Katiyar described the actor's mental state as "unstable", the party's general secretary, H Raja dubbed Kamal Haasan as a "supporter of terrorists".

"From his known stand of being an anti-Hindu, Kamal Haasan has now promoted himself as a supporter of terrorists. Nationalists' beware. During Viswaroopam crisis, certain Muslim outfits had commented that the (actor's) fear will not go away for another 20 years and it looks to be true. Attack on Hindus shameful," Raja tweeted.

Even though Kamal Haasan preferred not to react till late on Friday evening, his remarks nevertheless found support from Congress spokesperson and actor, Khushbu.

"Lynching, abusing, killing, threatening, harassing in the name of religion is a terror. Any religion... We see this now. N this needs to be stopped," she tweeted, without referring to either Kamal Haasan or the BJP.

Meanwhile, senior state Congress leader, Peter Alphonse sought to differ with Kamal Haasan's description of terrorism based on colour. "Congress does not accept generalising it as saffron terrorism. Kamal could have termed it as Hindutva terrorism, instead of Hindu terrorism, which is also not acceptable. One cannot accept any religion being linked to terrorism," Alphonse told a television channel, while seeking to differ on a few other points too, raised by the actor in the article.

Irrespective of what actor Kamal Haasan has said, BJP indulges in political and social violence. Can there be any denial on this front, asked political analyst Ramu Manivannan.

"It is only the mention of the word terrorist, which disturbs the equanimity of some people here. If the word terrorist is replaced by violence, that may be acceptable. Terrorism is a form of violence and violence is very much part of BJP's culture," Manivannan said.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Air India Express has announced that it will resume direct flight services between Mangaluru and Muscat from March 2026, restoring an important international air link for passengers from the coastal region.

Airport authorities said the service will operate twice a week—on Sundays and Tuesdays—from March 1. The initial flights are scheduled on March 3, 8 and 10, followed by March 15 and 17, with the same operating pattern to continue thereafter. The flight duration is approximately three hours and 25 minutes.

The Mangaluru–Muscat route was earlier operated under the 2025 summer schedule, with services beginning on July 14. At that time, Air India Express had operated four flights a week before suspending the service.

Officials said the summer schedule will come into effect from March 29, after which changes in flight timings and departure schedules from Mangaluru are expected. Passengers have been advised to check the latest schedules while planning their travel.

The resumption of direct flights to Muscat is expected to significantly benefit expatriates, business travellers and others, further strengthening Mangaluru’s air connectivity with the Gulf region.

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News Network
December 2,2025

DKSsiddu.jpg

Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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