Three arrested over ‘pro-Pak’ slogans in Karnataka assembly

Three people have been arrested in connection with the alleged slogans raised in the state assembly on February 29

Three people have been arrested for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans in the Karnataka Vidhana Soudha premises following the victory of Congress’s Syed Naseer Hussain in the Rajya Sabha poll on February 27, Bengaluru police said on Monday.

Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs stage a protest against the state government over an alleged video of pro-Pakistan slogans by the supporters of Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain during the State Assembly Session at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Thursday. (ANI)

“Based on the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, circumstantial evidence, witness statements and available proof, three persons have been arrested,” the Bengaluru City police said in a statement late in the evening.

According to the police, one of the accused is a resident of Delhi, the second hails from RT Nagar in Bengaluru, and the third one is from Byadagi in Haveri district of Karnataka.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah had earlier ordered the government-run FSL to probe into the video clippings to check the veracity of allegations that slogans of “Pakistan Zindabad” were raised by supporters of Hussain, who was among the three Congress candidates to win the Rajya Sabha polls. A fourth seat had gone to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the biennial polls.

Meanwhile, a political row between the ruling Congress and the BJP that erupted soon after the incident on February 27 intensified on Monday after the saffron party posted on its social media handle an investigation report of a private laboratory claiming that “pro-Pakistan” slogans were made. The Congress filed a police complaint against state BJP chief BN Vijayendra and others for posting “baseless and fabricated” report on social media.

The report prepared by private lab Clue4 Evidence Forensic Investigations and signed by audio forensic examiner Phaneendar BN claimed that “Pakistan Zindabad” slogan was highly probable in the 30-second video. The report was prepared on behalf of city-based ‘Samvada Foundation’, a non-profit allegedly linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fountainhead of the BJP.

Claiming the video of the incident was “not tampered/doctored”, Phaneendar alleged: “To the limited extent of the question in this case, being whether if it was ‘Nasir Saab Zindabad’ or ‘Pakistan Zindabad’, the above analysis indicates that it is highly probable to be ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.”

Reacting on the development, state home minister G Parameshwara said the report of the government’s own FSL would be made public once it is submitted. “If the report says that such a slogan was raised, then we will take action immediately. There is no question of hiding it, as alleged by the BJP.”

He also sought to know whether the private person who prepared the report had his own laboratory and had done the analysis. “We will find out with whose permission they are doing it, who gave him ‘No Objection Certificate’ and is he authorised to make such reports public,” the minister said.

However, leader of opposition in the assembly R Ashoka of the BJP alleged that the Congress government has received the official FSL report and it was trying to keep it under wraps to shield some persons. A memorandum in this regard was submitted by BJP legislators LA Ravi Subramanya, CK Ramamurthy and Uday B Garudachar to director general of police Alok Mohan, who is also the IGP, on Monday seeking his intervention in getting the official FSL report to be made public.

In a counter move, state Congress spokesperson AN Nataraj Gowda on Monday lodged a complaint against BJP state president BY Vijayendra and others for posting a “fake forensic report” on social media. The complaint was filed at the Cyber, Economic and Narcotics (CEN) crime police station in the Bengaluru West division.