Vijayapura, Jul 24: The District and Sessions Court here has acquitted the six Hindutva chauvinists accused in the Pakistan flag-hoisting case of January 1, 2012 in Sindgi town citing loopholes in the charge-sheet filed by the police.
The acquitted miscreants are Parashuram Waghmore, Mallanagouda Patil, Rohit Navi, Sunil Agasar, Arun Waghmore and Anil Solkar. First Additional District Judge K B Geeta pronounced the judgment. The case of the seventh accused, Rakesh Math, has been taken up by this court since he was a juvenile during the incident.
Among the six men, Parashuram Waghmore has now been arrested by a Special Investigation Team set up to probe into the murder of activist-cum-journalist Gauri Lankesh. He is believed to be the man who shot dead Gauri Lankesh.
According to S H Lagali, advocate for the accused, the court acquitted all the accused based on a technical lacuna found in the filing of the charge sheet. “The court found several technical mistakes in the charge sheet, based on which the accused were acquitted,” he said.
All the accused are said to be active members of the Sri Ram Sene, a hardline Hindutva outfit headed by Pramod Mutalik, a former Sangh Parivar leader.
The accused made an attempt to hoist the Pakistan flag outside the Tahsildar’s office in Sindgi town with an intention of creating communal riots by holding Muslims responsible for the act. However, their attempt was foiled by the police.
Public prosecutor K K Kulkarni and Inspector-General of Police (Northern Range) Alok Kumar, who are sure about the involvement of the above six men in the case, said that they would decide on appealing in a higher court against the acquittal only after reading the full judgment. “It is only after reading the judgment we can reach a conclusion whether the case is fit for appeal in a higher court. Till then, we can’t say anything,” they said.
Also Read:
Sri Rama Sene activists arrested for hoisting Pak flag in Sindagi
Flag hoisting row: Kasabs of Sindagi deserve stringent punishment
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