Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja has been booked for hate speech against Muslims amid the communal unrest in Mangaluru sparked by two unconnected killings in quick succession.
Harish Poonja has been booked by the Uppinangady police under Sections 196 (promoting enmity) and 353(2) (spreading rumours that promote enmity through electronic media) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) after a man named MS Ibrahim Musliyar filed a complaint.
The complaint comes after of Harish’s speech during the Brahmakalashotsava event at the Batrabailu Gopalakrishna Temple in Thekkar on Saturday, May 3, went viral on social media.
In the videos, Harish can be heard asking why Muslims were invited to the temple event. “You sent invites to the masjids? You and they have no connections whatsoever. It is because they were invited that they broke the tubelights and stole diesel,” Harish said.
His remarks come amid two killings in Mangaluru, which were followed by three incidents of stabbings of Muslims.
A mob of men with Hindutva links lynched a man named Ashraf, who was said to have a mild mental disability, on April 27, allegedly because he was Muslim. Local activists have accused the city police of delaying the investigation. Ravindra Nayak, the husband of a former BJP councillor and who is alleged to have instigated the mob, is still at large.
Just days later, on May 1, a rowdy-sheeter named Suhas Shetty was stabbed to death on the outskirts of Mangaluru. The Vishva Hindu Parishad took out a procession with his body the next day. Since Suhas’ murder, three Muslim men have been stabbed.
