Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj arrested, released on bail

Bengaluru: Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj was arrested on Wednesday in connection with a pending case after a court issued an arrest warrant. He was later released on bail. 

Basaveshwaranagar police produced him before the special sessions court for MPs/MLAs, which granted bail. The case is related to a protest held during the Covid-19 restrictions in 2021 in front of the residence of Rajajinagar BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar. Nagaraj had staged the protest demanding that SSLC (Class 10) students be passed without exams due to the pandemic.

A case was subsequently registered against him, and a magistrate court later issued a warrant. 

Nagaraj objected to the warrant being issued in English and initially refused to accompany the police. He insisted that the notice be served in Kannada. He later agreed to travel to the court in an auto-rickshaw, with a police vehicle following. 

Speaking to DH, Nagaraj said police arrived at his residence around 6 am and showed the warrant on a mobile phone. "I asked them to bring a printed copy. When they brought it in English, I refused to accept it, stating I could not read English and demanded a Kannada version,” he said. 

He added that he later appeared before the judge and secured bail. "This is the first time a warrant has been issued against me in this case, though I have been arrested several times earlier,” he said.