Three days after the Congress party returned to power in Karnataka, an FIR (First Information Report) registered against Chandru Moger — coordinator of the right-wing group Hindu Janajagruti Samiti — regarding a hate speech incident from 2022 has been transferred from the Bengaluru to Mangaluru. The transfer of the case took place on May 17, when the Sanjay Nagar police in Bengaluru handed over the case files to the Urwa Police Station in Mangaluru for further investigation. The Crime Branch police in Bengaluru, who were previously investigating the matter, discovered that the hate speech video in the case had originated from a Sanatan Sanstha office located in Mangaluru.
As part of their investigation, the Crime Branch officials had contacted Twitter, requesting information about the IP address associated with the system that put out the video. It was then revealed that the IP address was traced back to Mangaluru.
According to the FIR, Chandru Moger has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), Section 503 (criminal intimidation with anonymous communication), and Section 504 (intentional insult), among others.
In the video, Moger accused Muslims of having a "monopoly" over the fruit business and claimed that they would spit on fruits and bread before selling them. He called upon Hindus to help end what he claimed to be the “monopoly of Muslims in the fruit trade.” The false propaganda about spitting in food, often referred to as "thook jihad" in Hindutva circles, has gained traction among Hindutva supporters in recent times.
Moger's statements had drawn criticism from various political figures, including former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy who denounced the directive issued by the Hindutva unit to refrain from purchasing fruits from Muslims as a betrayal against the country and farmers.
Despite the police's initial failure to take action against Moger, Sheikh Zia Nomani, from Forum Law and Policy Research Institute, Karnataka president of the Bandhua Mukti Morcha, lodged a complaint on April 6, 2022 following a court directive, at the Sanjay Nagar police station. The complaint sought the registration of an FIR against the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti coordinator for defaming the Muslim community and inciting communal hatred and violence.
Mangaluru City Police Commissioner, Kuldeep Jain, confirmed that the FIR was transferred to Urwa Police Station. However, he said that nobody had been called for questioning in the case so far. “We will probe the matter thoroughly and then proceed. We have just begun the investigation, and there’s no progress to give out any details. We can do so once we are in possession of all the relevant details,” Sudarshan, the investigating officer in the case, told TNM.