Hubbali court grants bail to ‘kar sevak’ whose arrest in 1992 rioting-arson case led to statewide protests by Karnataka BJP

“The petition under Section 439 of the CrPC filed by the petitioner is hereby allowed with conditions,” the Hubbali court said on Friday, two days after Poojari filed his bail plea and the BJP staged protests across Karnataka over the arrest.

The rioting and arson case against Poojari pertains to a complaint filed by a victim, Hajratsab Maliksab Angadi, who alleged that his petty shop and those of others were burnt down on the night of December 6, 1992, by unknown Hindu activists in violence linked to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

The Hubbali Town police investigated the case and filed a chargesheet against 13 persons in 1993. In 1995, five of the accused who were arrested were acquitted while those who were absconding were named in a split chargesheet.

Another absconding accused, Raju Dharmadas, 61, was issued a notice by the police in 2017 and he moved court for anticipatory bail. He was also sought to be arrested by the Hubbali police in December 2023 but was released on bail by a local court.

Poojari, who has a criminal record of 16 cases in Hubbali — including bootlegging, gambling and rioting — had not been arrested in this specific case.

The Hubbali police obtained a court warrant for the arrest of Poojari and Dharmadas under the category of long pending reported (LPR or LP) cases in December from a Hubbali court.

Dharmadas appeared in court on December 18 and obtained a bail but Poojari was arrested on December 29 and sent to judicial custody.

On Wednesday, the Opposition BJP approached the Karnataka Governor and staged protests in different parts of the state even as the ruling Congress government accused the party of supporting a “criminal suspect”.

BJP state president B Y Vijayendra in a letter to the Governor said, “The arrest came 30 years after the unfortunate incident and the accused, Srikant Poojari, was in his 20s at the time of the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid demolition. While the Hubbali Dharwad police commissioner has labelled it as a routine police procedure, there are apprehensions that this is a clear attempt to harass BJP activists and create an atmosphere of fear among Hindu activists and BJP workers.”

“The timing of the arrest, just weeks before the historic consecration of the grand temple in Ayodhya on January 22, is extremely disturbing. It raises questions about the intention behind reopening a case after 30 years, especially when the nation is gearing up for a momentous occasion,” the BJP leader stated while seeking the intervention of the Governor.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar and police officers in Hubbali insisted that the arrest was routine and procedural in long-pending cases that are taken up under the supervision of the courts.

“They are desperately clinging to the arrest of a criminal suspect in Hubballi to lead their baseless charge. The BJP leaders need to understand that assigning caste and religious labels to criminals is extremely dangerous,” Siddaramaiah said.

“We have to follow due procedures that are laid down by the law. We will function according to the law. There are things that the police department must do in cases and they are being done,” Hubbali Dharwad police commissioner Renuka Sukumar said.

Poojari was among the 36 persons arrested in 2023 in long-pending cases in Hubbali on the direction of the courts, the Congress government said in a statement.

“The BJP is politicising a routine arrest carried out in the course of law. The BJP is attempting to capitalise on this issue ahead of the Lok Sabha polls,” Congress spokesperson Ramesh Babu said.