Dharmasthala case: Pastor, rowdy sheeter pose as human rights officers, police probe
Bengaluru(PTI): The Dakshina Kannada police are probing two imposters—one of whom is a pastor—who visited Belthangadi police station posing as officers of the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC).
The imposters had approached the police station “to find out the truth” behind allegations of mass burials in Dharmasthala temple town, police sources said on Tuesday.
One of the accused, Madan Bugudi, is a rowdy sheeter from Hubballi. The other is reportedly a pastor in a church at Doddaballapura and a resident of Bengaluru, who also visited the police station under the guise of a KSHRC member.
“He is said to run his own church in Doddaballapura, where he serves as a pastor. Investigations are underway to determine his involvement,” a senior police officer said.
Police registered a case against Bugudi, Mahesh Shetty Thimarody, and Girish Mattannanavar on August 31 under Sections 204, 319(2), and 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for impersonation, cheating, and spreading false information to cause enmity. Thimarody was recently externed from the Dakshina Kannada district.
According to police, Bugudi introduced himself as a Human Rights Commission officer during his visit to the Belthangadi police station.
“However, it was later found that he was not an officer of the Commission at all, but rather a notorious rowdy from Hubballi,” the officer said.
Charges state that Mattannanavar, along with Bugudi, spoke to reporters “with the intention of disturbing social peace and harmony, to provoke the public against the sacred Dharmasthala Kshetra, to hurt religious sentiments, and to deceive the general public.”
The controversy followed a complaint by C N Chinnaiah, later arrested for perjury, who alleged mass burials of bodies, including those of women with signs of sexual assault, in Dharmasthala over a period of time, implicating temple administrators.
The BJP protested against what it called the targeting of the temple, while Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar warned of action if the complaint was false. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of the Manjunatha Swamy Temple, welcomed the formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the allegations.
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Pawar, Athawale, Tawde set to get elected to Rajya Sabha
Mumbai (PTI): Six candidates of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, including Union Minister Ramdas Athawale and BJP leader Vinod Tawde, and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi nominee Sharad Pawar, are set to get elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed.
On the last day of filing nominations for the March 16 elections for seven seats from Maharashtra, only seven candidates filed their papers at Vidhan Bhawan in Mumbai on Thursday.
Pawar, 85, was not present at Vidhan Bhawan owing to ill-health. His daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule filed the papers on his behalf.
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Besides Athawale and Tawde, the BJP fielded Ramrao Wadkute and Maya Ivnate.
Wadkute, once considered close to Sharad Pawar during his stint in the undivided Nationalist Congress Party, hails from the Hatkar community in the Marathwada region.
He was then elected to the state Legislative council with Pawar’s support before joining the BJP.
Maya Ivnate is a former mayor of Nagpur, and has a tribal background.
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena fielded party spokesperson Jyoti Waghmare amid speculation that former Lok Sabha member Rahul Shewale might be nominated.
From the Nationalist Congress Party, former deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar on Thursday filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections.
With this, two members of the Pawar family are set to become Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra this time.
Parth’s mother Sunetra Pawar, who is now deputy CM, is also a member of the Rajya Sabha.
