Srikanth Poojary arrest: Family demands his release; Karsewaks allege political conspiracy

Karnataka: The arrest of Srikanth Poojary on December 29, 2023 in Karnataka has created a lot of unrest in the state and led to a full-fledged political war. Legal experts are divided on their opinion, but Poojary’s family is completely distraught and says that they do not want to get into the politics of it.

Ambika, the wife of Srikanth Poojary, spoke exclusively to Republic. "We do not want to be involved in politics and my husband has a medical condition. Four cops dragged him away from the house on December 29 at 10 am. My son was made to run from pillar to post but nothing was done and my husband was not granted bail. No notice was sent from the cops nor a summons from the court. I plead to the government with folded hands to release my husband."

Meanwhile, the accused No.8 in the 1992 riots case, the 77-year-old Ramachandra Kalaburagi also spoke exclusively to Republic. He said, "My family has been tortured and harassed by the cops who even threatened to take away my children if I did not come to the police station. This government is against Ram Bhakts, and Congress has a history of persecuting pro-Hindu activists. I have been in Hubballi for all these years and have not gone absconding and neither have I received any summons or notice by either the court or cops."

Srikanth Poojary’s bail application

The grounds for bail as approached by the legal counsel show that Srikanth Poojary was not absconding and was living in Hubballi for 31 years as an auto driver. The timing of his arrest has also been questioned. Also, why the police acted on the open warrant after 28 years has become a point of contemplation.

Grounds for Bail accessed by Republic, produced here verbatim

1. The petitioner-accused is quite innocent of the accusation made against him and he has not committed any offence as alleged by the complainant.

2. There is no material evidence available on record to connect the accused-petitioner with the nexus of the crime.

3. The petitioner is the permanent resident of Hubballi residing along with his old aged parents, wife and children, who are entirely depending upon the accused- petitioner. He is an auto rickshaw driver and he is the only earning member in the family.

4. It is submitted that the allegations made out in the complaint are without any iota of evidence and based on wrong information.

5. The petitioner-accused is in judicial custody since the date of his arrest. His further detention in the custody would cause untold hardship and loss to the petitioner- accused and his family members.

6. That the complaint does not disclose any prima facie to believe that the petitioner-accused has committed any such offence.

7. It is submitted that the accused is met with an accident and he has undergone surgery for his both hands and rods are inserted. He is under regular medical check up and treatment.

8. The petitioner-accused is ready and willing to abide by the conditions to be imposed by this Hon'ble court and he undertakes to keep himself to be present on every dates of hearing.

9. That there is no danger of the petitioner absconding or fleeing from justice. The petitioner is ready and willing to abide by any conditions that may be imposed by this Hon'ble court.

Sanjeev Bhadaskar, legal counsel of Srikanth Poojary while speaking to Republic said, "There were many violations by the cops when my client was taken into custody. There are over a 1,000 long pending cases in Hubballi and over a lakh such cases across Karnataka, but why is only my client being taken into custody?”

“This shows that there is a political motive of the government and the cops are executing an open warrant after 28 years. We are confident of securing bail for him. Srikanth's name was not even mentioned in the FIR filed in 1992, it was added in the chargesheet filed in 1993," added the legal counsel.