Karnataka: Hate speech case of HJS member transferred to M’luru a year on

A hate speech case against a Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) coordinator, Chandru Moger, who made an open call to boycott Muslim fruit vendors has been transferred to Urwa police station in Mangaluru on Wednesday.

Zia Nomani, the complainant in the case and the director of the Law and Policy Research Institute, told HT that on May 17, the Sanjay Nagar police in Bengaluru, transferred the case to the Urwa police station in Mangaluru, after the crime branch learnt that the video originated from there.

A police officer at Urwa police station confirmed to HT that the case was transferred on May 17.

“They transferred the case on May 17, three days after the election results. It’s another mockery of our police system.”

In the controversial video widely shared on social media last year, Chandru Moger had stated that the fruit business has been “monopolised” by Muslims who “spit on fruits and bread before selling it”, and asked people to buy fruits only from Hindu vendors.

According to the FIR, the accused, Chandru Moger, has been booked under IPC Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 503 (criminal intimidation with anonymous communication), and 504 (intentional insult) among others.

According to Nomani, the Sanjay Nagar police refused to file an FIR on several occasions. Despite approaching top officials including the city police commissioner, no action was taken, Nomani said, adding that instead of investigating the accused, the he was “harassed” by police officials.

“I filed a complaint in May last year. The Sanjay Nagar police only registered an NCR saying it’s a non-cognizable offence and that there was nothing they could do. We told them that many sections were not non-cognizable and asked them to investigate and come to a conclusion. They can’t do this prima facie looking at the complaint. The inspector outrightly denied filing any FIR,” Nomani said.

“We went back and forth from DCP North’s office to the commissioner and back to the DCP north. However, he didn’t show any interest in filing an FIR,” Nomani recalled.

“We again went to the Commissioner and he sent us to the additional commissioner. Instead of filing an FIR, he started shouting at us. He shouted at us saying we are making it a big issue. He told us that these baseless small issues are made big by people like us,” Nomani added.

Nomani then decided to file a private complaint before the magistrate court, pleading for an FIR to be registered. “Then we went to the magistrate court on April 30. The court heard us and directed the Sanjay Nagar police station to file an FIR. They then filed a complaint and an FIR.”

‘Harassment by police’

Nomani said that the FIR was filed, the Sanjay Nagar police sent him a notice, saying that he’d alleged in the complaint that he’d seen a video on Twitter. “They wanted to submit my mobile for investigation. That was funny because I’d given them a link and also a recording of the video in a CD. Not just the mobile, but they asked for my laptop also. I got a written notice on this.”

He also alleged that two officers visited his house when he was in the office, and quizzed his neighbour, who was a single lady about his personal details. “My neighbour was very scared. They also called my landlord asking him the same questions. They called me asking about my rental agreement. Instead of the accused, they investigated me basically.”

“Then I noticed that two people in plain clothes who were following me to my office and wherever I used to go. Then I again went to the DCP and told him that I was being harassed by your police. I gave a written request as well. He again acknowledged it and nothing was done,” Nomani added.

‘I left the city for four months’

Nomani said all this led to him leaving the city for four months in May. He contended that the HJS was “influential” and has been named in the murder chargesheet of Professor MM Kalburgi, and the Sanatan Sanstha has been named in the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh.

“I was very scared. It felt like they were trying to implicate me in any way possible. These people are very influential, that’s why I was scared. HJS has also been named in the chargesheet in the murder of Kalburgi. One of the Gauri Lankesh has also recognised Mohan Gowda, the general secretary of HJS. I was following on calls about the case updates just so that the case doesn’t die.”

Nomai said that the crime branch sleuths had written to Twitter, seeking information on the IP address of the system from where the video originated, and learnt that it was in Mangaluru.

“So, they transferred the case to the Urwa Police Station in Mangaluru for further investigation. But this is only dilly-dallying and finding loopholes in the process to not investigate the case. Not even a single notice was served to the accused till date or questioned...While I was changing cities, I had to postpone my marriage twice, after making all the bookings and inviting people,” he said.

“What came as a surprise to me was, after reading another article on the case, that Chandru had met the inspector, the ACP and the DCP, after we filed the complaint,” Nomani alleged.

Nomani pointed out that HJS is more dangerous than Bajrang Dal. “They are the fountainhead of all the poison that comes to the society. They not only work on propagating their ideology, but also physical violence.”