The Karnataka’s home department on Saturday issued a circular, instructing officials of Bengaluru Central Prison to release and revoke the case against Hindutva leader, Puneeth Kerahalli, who was arrested under the Goonda Act in connection with a murder of Muslim man and violating law and order.
The department said there was a “lack of sufficient ground” to book him under the law. The decision was made on the basis of a report submitted by the State advisory board.
This is the first time in the recent past that the advisory board has denied a request for preventive detention of a person.
Bengaluru police commissioner, B Dayananda responded to the advisory board’s decision by saying that the city police would soon consult legal counsel about the potential of challenging the judgment.
Puneeth Kerehalli is a leader of Rastra Rakshna Pade, a self-styled cow vigilante group. He hails from the Hassan district of Karnataka, however, currently lives in the J P Nagar area. He has 10 criminal cases filed between 2013 and 2023 pending against him.
Puneeth Kerehalli, known for his extremist Hindutva views, is the prime accused in the murder of a Muslim man, Idrees Pasha, a cattle transporter in Sathanur village. He initially managed to avoid arrest for several days before being arrested on April 5 in Rajasthan. However, he secured a bail on May 16.
Despite being released on bail, Puneeth continued to share offensive posts that were deemed to be provocatively communal on social media platforms. According to city police, he continued to pose a potential threat to law and order and was arrested again on August 11 under the Goonda Act.
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