New Delhi: The Bengaluru Police Tuesday arrested actor and pro-Dalit activist Chetan Kumar Ahimsa for tweeting on Karnataka High Court Justice Krishna Dixit, who is hearing the contentious hijab case.
The Seshadripuram police filed a suo motu case against the prominent actor, also a vocal tribal rights activist.
In a 16 February tweet, Ahimsa had shared a screenshot of a tweet he had posted nearly two years ago about comments made by Justice Krishna Dixit in a rape case.
“This is a tweet I wrote nearly two years ago regarding a Karnataka High Court decision
Justice Krishna Dixit made such disturbing comments in a rape case
Now this same judge is determining whether #hijabs are acceptable or not in govt schools
Does he have the clarity required?” Ahimsa tweeted.
This is a tweet I wrote nearly two years ago regarding a Karnataka High Court decision
Justice Krishna Dixit made such disturbing comments in a rape case
Now this same judge is determining whether #hijabs are acceptable or not in govt schools
Does he have the clarity required? pic.twitter.com/Vg8VRXmJTW
— Chetan Kumar Ahimsa / ಚೇತನ್ ಅಹಿಂಸಾ (@ChetanAhimsa) February 16, 2022
His wife Megha said the actor was arrested without notice to either him or family members. “This is kidnap. Every person arrested by the police should have access to legal help and at least their family should be informed,” Megha said in a social media livestream Tuesday evening from outside the Seshadripuram police station. A few Dalit rights activists had joined her to protest the arrest. Megha even said the local police couldn’t confirm Ahimsa’s whereabouts despite arresting him.
In a statement issued to the media, the Bengaluru Police said Ahimsa had been arrested and produced before a magistrate for the tweet. The police said an FIR under section 505 (2) and 504 of the IPC was filed against him.
The arrest comes days after Ahimsa participated in a huge rally organised by various pro-Dalit organisations in Bengaluru on 19 February,The to protest Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s photo being removed from the district court in Raichur during Republic Day celebrations.
Ahimsa had tweeted that day: “1.5+ lakh Karnataka egalitarians hit the streets today in downtown Bengaluru… Ambedkarite-Periyarist movement for #equality & #justice is making waves across every district… We are the cooling ice to ur sectarian fire; we are panacea to ur ideological sickness; we are the future!”
A follower of Ambedkar and Periyar — the founder of the Dravidian movement — Ahimsa has often irritated the Congress and the RSS for his criticism of their stands on various issues, including the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. One of the few prominent voices from the Kannada film industry, Ahimsa is an American citizen by birth. He is a Fulbright scholar and a graduate from Yale University.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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