Third charge sheet filed against Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja
Allegations include obstruction of forest department officials in land dispute
Belthangady: Another charge sheet has been lodged against Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja in the Bengaluru People's Representatives Court, alongside 17 other individuals, including Vidhan Parishad member Pratap Simha Naik.
The case stems from an incident approximately eight months ago when a dispute arose between officials and public representatives during the attempted eviction of encroached forest department land in Kalenja village. In response to the eviction, MLA Harish Poonja and BJP workers reportedly reconstructed a house at the contested site. Subsequently, when forest department officials moved to vacate the structure on October 9, 2023, Poonja, Naik, and others allegedly obstructed their efforts, leading to a significant altercation.
The Dharmasthala police, following an investigation, filed a charge sheet on June 1, citing obstruction of official duty against the accused individuals.
This marks the third charge sheet against MLA Harish Poonja, following prior allegations related to his involvement in illegal stone pelting and subsequent disturbances at the Belthangady police station, as well as his purported participation in a protest held without permission, which reportedly involved threats against the police.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
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.
