Controversial video of senior K'taka police officer goes viral, CM warns of action
Bengaluru (PTI): A video purportedly showing Karnataka DGP (Civil Rights Enforcement) K Ramachandra Rao in an alleged compromising position with women went viral in the social media on Monday.
Rao sought to reject the videos outright terming them "fabricated and false."
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah warned of action if the official was found guilty. The DGP's attempt to clarify his position with Home Minister G Parameshwara did not fructify.
The top police officer is the stepfather of Harshavardhini Ranya alias Ranya Rao, arrested in a sensational gold smuggling case and currently lodged in the Bengaluru Central Jail.
Kannada TV news channels too aired the blurred images of women in the video.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "We will get it investigated."
"I got to know about it in the morning. We will initiate disciplinary action against him. No one is above law, notwithstanding how senior the police officer is," he said responding the controversy surrounding the Director General of Police.
As the videos went viral, Rao rushed to meet Parameshwara but the meeting did not take place.
Speaking to reporters outside the minister's house, he said, "I am also thinking how and when it happened and who has done it. In this era anything can happen. I have no idea about it.”
When reporters said that this is an old video, he said, "Old means, eight years ago when I was in Belagavi."
Asked about his next course of action, he said he would discuss with his advocate about it.
"I am shocked. It is all fabricated, lie. The video is all false. I have no idea about it," Rao said.
When reporters asked how this happened, he said, "I will know only if it had happened. I don't know about it."
He added that he will explain to the Home Minister that false information is being spread.
Karnataka minister Laxmi Hebbalkar said the government will take action if someone has done something wrong.
"Being the Woman and Child Development Minister I can tell you that we will take action mercilessly, irrespective of the seniority he holds," she told reporters.
Senior BJP MLA and former Minister S Suresh Kumar slammed the "disgraceful act of police officer" as "an inexcusable crime".
"Rao has committed an act that has brought a blot on the entire police department. The act committed by this senior officer, in uniform and within his own office, has made people view the police department itself with suspicion and doubt," Kumar said in a statement.
The MLA alleged that earlier when large-scale gold smuggling had taken place by misusing the official's name and position, the government had washed its hands of the matter by sending him on compulsory leave.
Social activist Dinesh Kallahalli demanded Rao's suspension.
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CBCI seeks repeal of ‘forcible conversion’ laws, cites rights violations
Bengaluru (PTI): The CBCI on Tuesday strongly demanded that the Centre repeal legislations it said were "inconsistent with religious freedom and the right to privacy", alleging that many innocent individuals were being incarcerated on "unfounded allegations of forcible conversions".
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India cited Article 25 of the Constitution, stating that it guarantees that "all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion."
The CBCI concluded its 37th general body meeting on February 10. During the week-long conclave, which began on February 4, it also elected Cardinal Poola Anthony, Metropolitan Archbishop of Hyderabad, as its new president.
"As many innocent individuals are incarcerated on unfounded allegations of forcible religious conversions, we strongly demand the repeal of legislation that is inconsistent with religious freedom and the right to privacy," the CBCI said in a statement.
Recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s contribution to nation-building, the CBCI said his entire life was devoted to shaping "an India in which the people shall feel that it is their country, in whose making they have an effective voice, an India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people."
The CBCI alleged that the denial of rights to Dalit Christians has continued for decades as an indirect form of discrimination, despite repeated appeals for equality and justice.
"We express our concern over the denial of rights to minorities, as such acts weaken the democratic fabric of our society," it said.
"While maintaining our commitment to eliminate any form of discrimination within ecclesial communities based on caste or language, we urge the government to ensure that no citizen is denied fundamental rights to equality and freedom," it said.
"At a time when freedom and human rights are increasingly disregarded, we reaffirm our faith in the Constitution of India, which envisions the country as a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic, and secures to all its citizens justice, liberty, equality and fraternity," the statement added.
Pointing out that constitutional rights are often "unjustly restricted, particularly concerning the poor, the marginalised, Dalits and tribal people," the CBCI said it was important to advocate for the protection of fundamental rights for all individuals, regardless of caste, creed or language.
Encouraging youth to participate actively in public life and democratic processes, the CBCI said, "It has become the need of the hour that our youngsters, as exemplary Christians and responsible citizens of India, actively engage in politics as a vocation to service."
"In a context of polarisation and mistrust, we uphold the Church’s calling to foster dialogue, reconciliation and fraternity. The Christian faith has always inspired us to seek the path of forgiveness whenever we have been deprived of human dignity and rights," it added.
