Bengaluru, Sept 23: A city civil and sessions court has denied bail to P Naveen, nephew of Pulikeshinagar MLA R Akhanda Srinivasamurthy, saying though the charges against him are not severe, his act had led to riots in east Bengaluru’s KG Halli and DJ Halli areas on August 11.
Naveen, 35, of Kaval Byrasandra, was arrested on August 12 following an alleged derogatory post on Facebook. He has been booked under IPC sections 154A (promoting enmity between two different groups on the ground of religion, race, language etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts,intended to outrage religious feelings of any class) and also section 67 (punishment for publishing of material containing sexually explicit act) of the IT Act. They prescribe less than 5 years of imprisonment, if found guilty.
Allegedly infuriated by Naveen’s post, thousands of miscreants attacked his and his uncle’s house and set ablaze DJ Halli and KG Halli police stations. Over 500 vehicles were also set on fire and 4 people were killed in police crackdown on the rioters. Naveen told the court he has not committed the alleged offences and has no bad antecedents.
However, P Prasanna Kumar, special public prosecutor, said: “There have been 67 FIRs registered for the violence. Naveen also has six criminal cases against him prior to this case. A man from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, has announced “Rs 50 lakh bounty to those who bring the head of Naveen”. He may tamper with the prosecution evidence and commit similar offences if released on bail.”
“Though the offences are not punishable for more than five years, the gravity should be looked into,” judge Vidyadhar Shirahatti said.
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