BJP MPs Nalin Kumar Kateel, Anant Kumar Hegde delete controversial tweets regarding Godse
Party seeks explanation in 10 days
Bengaluru: A day after Dakshina Kannada MP and BJP leader Nalin Kumar Kateel posted a controversial tweet against former PM Rajiv Gandhi indirectly supporting Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, the BJP MP has taken down the tweet from his official handle.
In the tweet, Kateel had added “Nathuram Godse killed one, Ajmal Kasab killed 72 and Rajiv Gandhi killed 17000. You decide who was more brutal murderer among the three”.
Another BJP leader and union minister had also tweeted supporting Godse and wrote “Seven decades later, the condemned were being heard”. He too deleted his tweet from his timeline.
Shortly after deleting the tweet, Hegde posted that his account was allegedly hacked and that there is no question of justifying Gandhi ji’s murder.
Shortly afterwards, he deleted the tweet and posted: "My Twitter account has been breached twice in the past one week and certain tweets have been posted on my timeline which has been discarded and deleted. Regret the posts attributed to me."
"Am glad that 7 decades later today's generation debates in a changed perceptional environment and gives good scope for the condemned to be heard upon. #NathuramGodse would have finally felt happy with this debate!" Hegde had earlier posted.
BJP on the other hand has distanced itself from the statements of both Hegde and Kateel and party president Amit Shah has asked them to explain remarks in 10 days, according to a report published in NDTV.
Earlier yesterday, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, triggered the debate after calling Nathuram Godse “a patriot”. She later apologized for her remarks.
My account was hacked since yesterday. There is no question of justifying Gandhi ji's murder. There can be no sympathy or justification of Gandhi ji's murder. We all have full respect for Gandhi ji's contribution to the nation.
— Chowkidar Anantkumar Hegde (@AnantkumarH) May 17, 2019
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Court denies anticipatory bail to BJP MLA in rowdy sheeter murder case
Bengaluru (PTI): The Special Court for People's Representatives on Tuesday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj, in connection with the murder of rowdy sheeter.
The case pertains to the murder of Shivaprakash alias Biklu Shivu, who was hacked to death in the city in July 15 this year.
With the dismissal of the bail application, Basavaraj, who is alleged to be currently untraceable can be arrested any time by the investigating agency.
On December 19, Karnataka High Court had also rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Basavaraj in connection with the murder case. During the course of the investigation, the police began probing the alleged role of Basavaraj in the crime, who has been named as the fifth accused in the FIR.
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Senior advocate Sandesh Chauta appeared on behalf of Basavaraj, while Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Ashok Naik represented the CID in the Special Court.
SPP Naik placed a copy of the charge sheet before the court and pointed out that crucial tower location details are recorded on page 298 of the document.
He informed the court that there is evidence of a telephone conversation between accused No.1 and No.5. Naik argued that further crucial links in the case would emerge only after Basavaraj's arrest and custodial interrogation, and hence opposed the grant of anticipatory bail.
Countering the prosecution's claims, senior advocate Chauta contended that the case against Basavaraj is based on assumptions of conspiracy and intent, with no concrete evidence to support it.
He submitted that even five months after the incident, the investigating agency had failed to gather material establishing his client's involvement in the murder.
Chauta further argued that accused No.1, Jaga, was attempting to artificially link Basavaraj to the case by citing social interactions such as attending a birthday party and a visit to the Kumbh Mela, none of which, he said, had any connection to the alleged murder plot.
He also claimed that despite Basavaraj expressing willingness to cooperate with the investigation, no summons had been issued to him. On these grounds, the defence sought anticipatory bail.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhatt reserved the order earlier in the day and later pronounced the rejection of the bail plea.
