UP man booked for announcing reward for beheading BKU's Rakesh Tikait in social media post
Muzaffarnagar/Meerut (UP), May 18 (PTI): A man has been booked over his social media post in which he allegedly announced a reward for anyone who beheads Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait.
With the viral post sparking protests by the followers of the farmer leader in Muzaffarnagar and Meerut, a case was registered against Amit Choudhry at the Civil Lines Police Station in Muzaffarnagar.
Station House Officer Ashutosh Kumar Singh said that in the viral video, the accused purportedly announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for the beheading of Tikait.
Led by the BKU's Muzaffarnagar district president Naveen Rathi, hundreds of protesters demanded immediate police action against Choudhry. Rathi said he has lodged an FIR against the accused.
In Meerut, BKU activists gheraoed Jani police station, demanding action against Chowdhury. BKU Meerut district president Anurag Chaudhary led a tractor-trolley protest and staged a sit on the police station premises.
Police in both districts issued statements regarding the registration of FIRs but did not elaborate on the accused and reasons why he made such statements against Tikait. It is part of the probe, they said.
ये अमित चौधरी है भाकियू (अटल) के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष है, इन्होने किसान नेता राकेश टिकैत का सिर कलम करने पर 5 लाख के इनाम की घोषणा की है। इस बयान को लेकर किसान यूनियन ने थाने का घेराव कर FIR दर्ज करने की मांग की है। #Bijnaur @OfficialBKU @RakeshTikaitBKU pic.twitter.com/0y2WEZTxoM
— Lokesh Rai (@lokeshRlive) May 18, 2025
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Conspiracy afoot to 'tarnish' image of Dharmasthala: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Aug 14 (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said there was a “conspiracy” to tarnish the image of Dharmasthala.
His comments come amid an ongoing investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into serious allegations of mass burials in the revered temple town in Dakshina Kannada district.
“A conspiracy is being hatched to destroy hundreds of years of legacy. It is not correct to tarnish someone just like that. It has all happened due to one complainant,” he said.
Noting that some Congress MLAs have called for action against those involved in the slander campaign at the legislature party meeting, he said, “ I have told them that action must be taken against those who are indulging in a slander campaign. The CM has also said that action must be taken against such people.”
“I have information on this case. Religious feelings should not be hurt in any manner. Culprits must be punished,” he told reporters, according to a release from his office.
Responding to a question, Shivakumar said the Congress party will not allow the image of any religious place to be tarnished.
“We see everyone equally when it comes to religion,” he added.
The SIT, formed by the state government, is probing claims of mass murder, rape, and mass burials in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.
The complainant, a former sanitation worker whose identity has not been revealed, alleged that between 1995 and 2014 he was forced to handle bodies—including women and minors—and that some showed signs of sexual assault. He has given a statement before a magistrate.
As part of the probe, the SIT has been conducting exhumations at multiple locations identified by the complainant-witness in the forested areas along the banks of the Netravathi River in Dharmasthala, where some skeletal remains have been found at two sites so far.
