Kalaburagi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Sunday took a swipe at the RSS, saying the organisation is following rules for the first time in 100 years by holding a route march in Chittapur with due legal and constitutional permission.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is scheduled to hold the march in Chittapur Assembly constituency in Kalaburagi district, from where Priyank, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, is an MLA.

Priyank, who has been vocal against the RSS for some time, had earlier written to the CM (Siddaramaiah) urging that the organisation not be allowed to hold shakhas or route marches on government land anywhere in Karnataka, citing concerns that they "spread hatred".

The RSS had initially planned the march in Kharge’s constituency, but the district administration denied permission.

The outfit later approached the court and obtained approval.

"I have never opposed the route march. All I said was that permission should be taken. They have a habit of not following the rule of law. Now they are following the rules. Let them do it," Priyank told reporters in Kalaburagi.

According to the minister, strict conditions have been imposed.

"If they don’t follow the conditions, they will face punishment as per the law. What’s the problem here? Earlier, they used to communicate; now they are seeking permission," he added.

Priyank further said, "We have asked them to follow the law and Constitution, which they are doing for the first time in 100 years."

Ahead of the RSS march, security has been tightened around the Bajaj Kalyan Mantap, the starting point of the procession.

Police have cordoned off the venue, while bomb disposal squads and sniffer dogs conducted thorough checks.

Officers are also monitoring the compound and surrounding trees for potential security threats, with a heavy police presence deployed.

The route march is scheduled to begin at 3.30 pm from the Bajaj Kalyan Mantap, proceed for about 1.2 km, and conclude near the same venue.

CCTV cameras have been installed, and drone surveillance has been arranged along the entire route.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday. 

The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said. 

A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said. 

Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.

Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.

Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.

Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.

Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.

The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.

According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet. 

"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.