Accused claims to be Mahasabha chief

Mangaluru: One of the two

accused

, who was

arrested

by

Mangaluru city police

recently, for allegedly misusing the name of the

Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha

(ABHM), claimed that he is its state president.

After being released,

Rajesh Pavithran

told the media at Patrika Bhavan here on Saturday, that he is the president of ABHM-Karnataka, and Dharmendra, a co-accused in the case, is its state general secretary. ABHM-Karnataka is a political party registered in 2015, and Dharmendra was one of the eight candidates in the assembly elections of 2018, he said. Further, he claimed that he filed a complaint on August 23, seeking an inquiry into the misuse of ABHM name. He stated that another complaint will also be filed in the court.

Meanwhile, in another press conference, complainant L K Suvarna, reiterated that Pavithran and Dharmendra were expelled from the state committee posts. “We have no links with those who went to jail after holding press meets in the name of Hindu Mahasabha,” Suvarna said.

The city police had on September 18 booked a case at Barke police station, against eight people, based on a complaint filed by Suvarna. The complainant had claimed that the accused, despite being expelled from the organisation, were holding press conferences by misusing the organisation’s letterhead. Further, he sought action against those who held the press confrences for threatening the chief minister, the former chief minister and others over the demolition of a temple at Nanjangud in Mysuru district. Following this, Pavithran, Dharmendra and others were arrested.