New Delhi: Srikanth Poojari, who was arrested Sunday in connection with a case of rioting on 5 December 1992 in connection with the demolition of the Babri Masjid, has 13 cases including that of bootlegging, gambling, rioting and causing hurt registered against him, ThePrint has learnt.
The 51-year-old Hindutva activist from Karnataka’s Hubballi has been arrested 10 times in the past, the Karnataka Police said, mostly for bootlegging. But he has always managed to secure bail.
He was, however, never arrested in connection with the Babri Masjid demolition violence.
When an accused is arrested in a particular case, police officers have access to their past criminal record, sources said. The police have the power to arrest the same person in previous cases for the purpose of investigation.
Asked why this had not been done despite Poojari being arrested 10 times earlier, Hubballi-Dharwad Commissioner Renuka K. Sukumar said an inquiry into the matter had been initiated.
While five of the cases against Poojari are under the Karnataka Excise Act, three pertain to gambling activities registered under the Karnataka Police Act and four include cases of causing hurt, criminal intimidation and more.
Last arrested in 2014, worked as auto driver
Sources said Poojari was last arrested in a 2014 case registered at the Old Hubli Police station.
“He was arrested in 2014 in a case of wrongful restraint, causing hurt, criminal intimidation but was out on bail. There have been no new cases against him in the past 10 years,” a source said, adding that he had been an autorickshaw driver for the past several years.
Sources said proceedings were initiated under Section 107 of the CrPC against Poojari thrice between 1992 and 2018, and in one case, he was served a show-cause notice and asked to join the investigation.
Action under Section 107 is preventive and not punitive. Under it, the executive magistrate has the power to apprehend any individual for not more than a year on information that a person is likely to disturb peace and public tranquillity.
‘Routine round-up’
Poojari’s arrest has triggered a political backlash, with BJP leaders accusing Karnataka’s Congress government of targeting Hindutva activists ahead of the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on 22 January.
Karnataka police, however, saidthe arrest was part of a “routine round-up” to take action in long pending cases.
Speaking to ThePrint, Commissioner Sukumar said the police revisit long-pending cases from time to time in order to arrest the accused, and this arrest was part of that exercise.
“Police from time to time carry out reviews of pending cases to trace the accused. We made an effort to trace long-pending cases, and in 37 such cases — property offences, murder, rioting, narcotics and cyber-crime — we were successful in nabbing the accused,” she said.
“It is only that in one such rioting case reported in connection to the 1992 violence, we managed to apprehend Poojari. For us, it is just another riot case in which the accused has now been arrested,” she added.
She also said the Hubballi police havea list of 150 long-pending cases in which arrests have not been made, and that work on these was ongoing.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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