Selfie video against CM lands duo in jail

A petrol pump attendant and his cab driver friend have been arrested for abusing Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his family in a selfie video.

The video, taken on May 23 when the Lok Sabha election results were announced, went viral on WhatsApp and reached a JD(S) worker who then filed a complaint with the High Grounds police. The video contains offensive language against Kumaraswamy, his father and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and son Nikhil Kumaraswamy.

Swinging into action, police arrested Siddaraju, 26, who works at a petrol pump, and his friend Chamaraju, 28, a cab driver. Both are residents of Channapatna, Ramanagaram district. The men are said to have told the police that they were upset with Kumaraswamy’s “family politics” and the “misuse” of the community for personal gains. They claimed to have made the video in a drunk state.

The duo has been booked under IPC sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (2) (intent to incite offence against community). A court has remanded the men in judicial custody.