Karnataka: Home Guard arrested over provocative post targeting CM Siddaramaiah

Udupi: A Home Guard was arrested for allegedly uploading a provocative post targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in social media.

The accused, identified as Sampath Salian, had posted a statement on the Instagram account, “sampussalin (Sampu S Sanoor)” declaring that; “If CM Siddaramaiah is killed, it will bring peace to Hindus.” The post sparked outrage and was seen as an attempt to provoke political hatred and target a political leader. A complaint against the post was filed by Suraj, a resident of Kukkundur in Karkala.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered at Karkala Town Police Station. The charges were filed under Section 353(2) BNS (promoting enmity and inciting hatred). Police succeeded in tracking down the accused who was found working at Home Guards office in Bengaluru. Subsequently he was arrested on Sunday and was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody after being produced in a court.

Police said further investigation is underway to ascertain Sampath's online activities.