Author K.S Bhagawan booked for depicting Lord Ram, Gandhi in poor light
Bengaluru, Jan 1: Academician and author K S Bhagawan has been booked for allegedly insulting Lord Ram and Mahatma Gandhi in his book, police said Tuesday.
The case was filed under IPC Section 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), a police official said.
The Kannada book "Rama Mandira Yeke Beda" (Why Ram temple is not required) claims Ram was not a God and he suffered from weaknesses just as any other human being.
Right-wing organisations had on Friday staged a demonstration against Bhagawan, accusing him of depicting Lord Ram in poor light in his book and making derogatory references.
A complaint was lodged by Hindu Jagarana Vedike Mysuru district president K Jagadish Hebbar on Saturday against Bhagwan's alleged derogatory references to Lord Ram and Gandhi in his book, the police official said.
Bhagawan, who had courted controversy by making certain references to the Bhagavad Gita that are termed as "offensive" by right-wing outfits, has made unflattering observations about Ram's character in his book.
The author, however, had defended his work, saying it was based on Valmiki's Ramayana.
Pro-Hindu activists had staged a demonstration in front of his house Friday and courted arrest.
BJP's Karnataka unit also had targeted Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy over his "silence" on the issue and demanded that Bhagawan be arrested immediately.
State senior BJP leader and MLA S Suresh Kumar had said in a Facebook post that the state government had two choices "either it should jail Bhagawan or send him to mental hospital".
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
