Police in Bengaluru arrested two men for allegedly abusing Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and his family in a widely shared video on WhatsApp. The video was purportedly shot on the day of the Lok Sabha results.
In the same video, the two men had also allegedly abused Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of the Chief Minister and also other members of the first family of the JD(S).
The accused have been identified as Siddaraju, 26, and his friend Chamaraju, 28.They were working as a petrol pump attendant and cab driver respectively.
High Grounds police have booked the duo under Sections 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (2) (intent to incite offence against community) of the Indian Penal Code. They have been remanded to judicial custody by a local court.
The abusive rant was reportedly because of the two’s disappointment with the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls. The JD(S) which is part of the ruling coalition in the state had only managed to win a single seat in Karnataka as did their alliance partner Congress.
“When we tracked them down and questioned them, they said they were upset with the CM’s family politics and his party’s poor showing at the Lok Sabha elections,” a policeman told The Hindu.
Police had started the probe after some JD(S) party workers filed a complaint regarding this.
In August 2018, a 24-year-old Mangaluru man Prashant Poojary was arrested for an abusive post againstKumaraswamy on Instagram.
In that case, the arrest was made by the Central Crime Branch based on a suo motu complaint.
In that case, the arrest was made by the Central Crime Branch based on a suo motu complaint.