CBI closure report in Paresh Mesta case will be reviewed for reprobe, says home minister

News Network

October 24, 2022

Mangaluru, Oct 24: Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Monday said that the CBI closure report on Hindu youth Paresh Mesta will be reviewed for reinvestigation.

"The Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) has filed a B-report in the Paresh Mesta case. However, Mesta's father has asked for reinvestigation of the case. The government is reviewing to take a call on reinvestigation," minister Jnanendra stated.

He further stated that it is a necessity that the suspicious death of Paresh Mesta has to be reviewed and exact cause ascertained. Mesta's father and locals claim it to be a case of murder, he added.

According to the charge sheet, the Hindu youth died after slipping into the lake, while wandering when communal clashes were underway in Honnavara town of the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka in 2017.

It mentions that Mesta had attended then CM Siddaramaiah's programme in Kumta city after travelling about 25 kilometers with friends.

The issue was projected as the major issue during 2018 Assembly elections, to the local Honnavar Court in this regard. The charge sheet mentions that, Paresh Mesta had attended then CM Siddaramaiah's programme in Kumta city after travelling about 25 kilometers with friends.

Paresh Mesta, who went missing on December 6, 2017 during the communal clashes in Honnavar town, was found dead near Shettikere Lake after two days.

Ruling BJP and Hindu activists alleged that Paresh was killed in the mob violence and killers have dumped the body later.

The BJP party, which was in the opposition then had launched a full-fledged agitation against ruling Congress then. The ruling Congress government suffered a setback due to the agitation in the assembly elections of 2018.

Hindu activists demanding the arrest of killers of Paresh, had torched the vehicle of the IGP. The police were pelted with stones. Many policemen were injured. BJP had made it a major issue in the elections.

Including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, many political leaders had visited Paresh's house. Then Siddaramaiah government had handed over the case to the CBI.

The report by CBI is analysed to be a setback for the ruling BJP, which termed Paresh Mesta death "accidental" and filed a closure report. The CBI has filed the closure report after investigating the case for five years. It will pronounce the verdict on November 16.

The incident had taken place during the tenure of Congress government headed by Opposition leader Siddaramaiah. "CBI has in its report, stated that Paresh Mesta's death was accidental and was not due to murder. This report is a slap on the face of Karnataka BJP.

"If BJP has left with any shame left, it should apologise for its slanderous campaign," Siddaramaiah had stated.

The ruling BJP in Karnataka which had suffered a setback after the CBI filing closure report in Mesta death case, has decided to back his family.

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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