St Gerosa incident: FIR registered against BJP MLAs, Bajrang Dal leader

MANGALURU: Mangaluru South Police have registered an FIR against Mangaluru City South MLA D Vedavyas Kamath, Mangaluru City North MLA Dr Y Bharath Shetty, Bajrang Dal leader Sharan Pumpwell, corporators Sandeep Garodi, Bharath Kumar and another unidentified person in connection with the protest held in front of St Gerosa English Higher Primary School in the city on Monday.

A case under IPC Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc), 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 505(2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 149 was registered against the MLAs and others on the basis of a complaint filed by Anil Gerald Lobo, a citizen of Mangaluru.

The complainant has accused the MLAs and others of organizing a protest in front of the school illegally.

“An audio clip accusing St Gerosa English Higher Primary School teacher Sr Prabha of insulting Hindu Gods, while teaching students, had gone viral. Sr Prabha has not insulted any religion. The MLAs and others have called for a protest near the school illegally, shouted ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogan, spoke against the Christian religion and thereby provoked students to violate the school management’s rules. They have also threatened the school management, spoke inciting communal friction between Hindu and Christian religions and thereby made attempts to breach peace in Dakshina Kannada district,” according to the complainant.

It may be recalled that the school had suspended a teacher for allegedly passing derogatory comments against Hindu gods, Hindu religion and Prime Minister Narendra Modi inside the classroom on Monday. Further, the government transferred the DDPI of Dakshina Kannada on Wednesday.MANGALURU:Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.