Karnataka: FIR against KRS workers for questioning Home Minister during Janata Darshan
Tumakuru: An FIR was registered at the Tumakuru City Police Station on Thursday against three workers of the KRS (Karnataka Rashtra Samithi) party for allegedly creating a ruckus and obstructing police duty during a Janata Darshan programme attended by Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara.
The incident took place on Wednesday at the Central Library auditorium in Tumakuru during a district-level public grievance redressal event led by Parameshwara, who is also the district-in-charge minister.
The case was filed based on a complaint lodged by PSI M.N. Manjula of the Tumakuru City Police Station. The accused have been identified as KRS State Vice President K.S. Somasundar and party workers Mallikarjun Bhattarahalli and Gnana Sindhu Soumya.
According to the FIR, the accused have been booked under Sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 132 (assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from duty), 74 (assault or criminal force against a woman), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation), read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Police stated that as the programme concluded and the Home Minister was stepping down from the stage, the KRS workers approached him to submit a petition, during which Somasundar was recording a video on his mobile phone. The minister reportedly objected to the recording, following which police personnel intervened and escorted Somasundar out of the venue. The other KRS workers were later taken into custody.
The FIR further said that a large number of women had attended the Janata Darshan, for which separate queues had been arranged for men and women. The KRS workers allegedly arrived as a group and insisted on meeting the minister without following the queue system, despite repeated requests by police personnel.
In her complaint, PSI Manjula alleged that the accused obstructed her from performing official duties, attempted to push her, dragged her despite her being in uniform, and hurled abuses. She also alleged that the accused targeted government officials to provoke confrontations, record videos and circulate them on social media to create propaganda.
Further investigation is underway.