Bantwal, June 21: In a joint operation, a police team from Mangaluru and Bantwal arrested three accused including a Tulu film actor on charges of assaulting and attempting murder BJP workers at Baddekatte in the taluk last week, on Thursday.  

The arrested are identified as main accused Surendra Bhandary (37), Sathish Kulal (37) and Prithviraj J Shetty (35).  On a tip-off, Surendra Bhandary and Sathish Kulal were arrested at Pachchinadka in Mangaluru and another accused Pruthviraj who was absconding was arrested at Kumble at Kerala. All the three would be produced before the court, the police said.

About the incident

A team led by Surendra Bhadary attacked BJP workers and Mani gram panchayat members Ganesh Rai and Pushparaj E at Baddekatte in Bantwal and made futile attempt to kill them. A person had recorded the scene where Surendra Bhandary was seen abusing with foul language and attacking the victims wielding a lethal weapon and it was viral in the social media.

Under the guidance of DySP, DCIB police inspector Sunil Nayak, Bantwala PSIs Chandrashekar, Harish, Yallappa and Prasanna, Uday Rai, Praveen and Iqbal of DCIB, staff Girish, Murugesh, Nazeer, Umesh, Kumar, Mallik Saab,Danya, Prashanth, Kedar, Hanumanthu and Diwakar participated in the operation.

SP Ravikante Gowda announced prizes to the police personnel for their success in the investigation.

 

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New Delhi: The Saket District Court has granted BJP leader Suresh Nakhua time to address defects in his affidavit in a defamation suit filed against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee. Nakhua sought to rectify the affidavit after it was flagged for non-compliance with requirements under the Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA).

During the hearing on November 14, District Judge Gunjan Gupta noted the plaintiff’s request to submit a fresh certificate under s. 63 of the BSA, which pertains to the admissibility of electronic records. Rathee's counsel opposed the plea, arguing that Nakhua had already been given ample time to correct errors.

Advocate Satvik Varma, appearing for Rathee, pointed out that Nakhua’s affidavit was filed under the old Indian Evidence Act instead of adhering to the new law, which mandates expert certification for electronic evidence. Varma emphasised that the video central to the defamation claim could not be examined without proper compliance.

The court has scheduled the next hearing for February 4, 2025, directing both parties to present arguments on the legislative intent of the expert certification requirement under the BSA and whether its omission is a substantial defect warranting dismissal.

Nakhua had filed the defamation suit against Rathee over a July 7 YouTube video titled “My Reply to Godi Youtubers | Elvish Yadav | Dhruv Rathee.” Nakhua alleged that Rathee linked him to “violent and abusive trolls,” damaging his reputation and subjecting him to public ridicule.

Advocate Raghav Awasthi, representing Nakhua, contended that the defect in the affidavit was curable and requested permission to submit a revised affidavit.

The case, which has seen multiple procedural challenges, will now hinge on compliance with the provisions of the BSA, 2023.