Bengaluru: Cow vigilante Puneeth Kerehalli enters Muslim homes on Eid, activists demand action
Bengaluru: Lawyers, researchers, and social activists have urged the Bengaluru police to take preventive action against murder-accused cow vigilante Puneeth Kerehalli, following the circulation of videos showing him unlawfully entering Muslim households in the city during Eid-ul-Adha.
Kerehalli, affiliated with the Hindutva outfit Rashtra Rakshana Pade, uploaded videos on 4 and 6 June from areas with significant Muslim populations, including Tannery Road, Ahmednagar, and Shivajinagar. In these videos, he is seen entering homes and claiming to be "rescuing" cows allegedly brought for slaughter. Eid-ul-Adha, observed from the evening of 6 June, sees animal sacrifice as a part of religious practice.
In one of the 30-minute videos, Kerehalli is seen entering a house and filming cattle and goats, stating that “this is happening in every Muslim household.” A man identified by him as a police officer appears briefly, asking him to leave, but Kerehalli continues filming and making political accusations. In another video, he and his associates argue with locals in Ahmednagar over cattle.
Civil society members including advocates BT Venkatesh and Clifton D’Rozario, Dr Sylvia Karpagam, and activists Syed Tousif Masood and Zia Nomani submitted a complaint to senior police officials, demanding Kerehalli’s preventive detention under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) or the Goondas Act. They highlighted the threat of communal unrest triggered by such acts of vigilantism.
The complaint noted that despite police presence in the videos, no immediate action was taken to restrain Kerehalli. The activists stressed that enforcing the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, is the responsibility of the police, not private individuals.
Kerehalli, who is the main accused in the March 2023 murder of cattle transporter Idrees Pasha in Ramanagara, continues to post such videos frequently. He has previously called for a boycott of Muslim vendors and opposed the sale of halal meat. Despite being a repeat offender, authorities have been slow to act, with officials reportedly declining to accept the latest complaint, citing the Bakrid holiday.
To ensure record of the complaint, copies were sent via email to the Commissioner of Police, top state police officials, Chief Secretary to the CM, Home Minister, and Bengaluru in-charge Minister DK Shivakumar.
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Karnataka govt seeks agency to manage rural drinking water units: Minister
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said the state government is working to appoint an agency to manage clean drinking water units in rural areas.
The state Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister was responding to a question by Hirekerur MLA U B Banakar in the legislative assembly.
"In the rural areas of the state, many clean drinking water units have been set up under corporate social responsibility (CSR) grants, including contributions by MLAs and MPs, and handed over to gram panchayats. After the maintenance period, problems have arisen in keeping these units operational," Priyank said.
He added that a proposal has been made to award a maintenance contract to one of the country’s reputed drinking water unit manufacturing companies, but so far, no companies have come forward to take up the work.
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"The government is continuing its efforts and will resolve this problem soon," he said.
On a query regarding fluoride content in water, the minister said water quality testing is being conducted monthly in all zilla panchayats.
"Laboratories have been opened for this purpose. Around 6.5 lakh water samples have been tested across the state, and water testing kits have been provided to villages," he added.
