Two FIRs filed against Sangh Parivar activists over highway blockade, police station protest in Bhatkal

Bhatkal, April 10: Two separate FIRs have been registered at the Bhatkal Town Police Station against activists associated with Sangh Parivar outfits for staging protests in response to an alleged assault on a Hindu activist by Uttara Kannada Superintendent of Police (SP) M. Narayan.

The protests were sparked by allegations that SP M. Narayan physically assaulted Sangh Parivar worker Srinivas Naik during a rowdy-sheeter parade in Sirsi on April 8. Reports circulated on social media claimed that Naik was manhandled during a police interrogation. He was reportedly among ten individuals summoned by the SP as part of a law and order review involving rowdy elements in the district.

In reaction to the alleged incident, a group of activists staged a protest on the night of April 8 at Shamsuddin Circle and near the Taluka Panchayat office in Bhatkal. The protest involved the blockade of National Highway 66 for over an hour. A second demonstration took place on the morning of April 9 in front of the Bhatkal Town Police Station.

Following these protests, two FIRs were registered by the police. The first FIR was lodged by PSI Naveen S. Naik and pertains to the April 8 highway blockade. It names 11 individuals including Nagaraj Venkat Naik (Jali Talageri), Abhishek Timmappa Naik (Hanuman Nagar), Nagesh Narayan Naik (Honnegadde), Nagendra Shankar Naik (Herur Elebara), Lokesh Ravi Devadiga (Mundalli), Ravikumar Shashikant Shet (Sonarkeri), Eshwar Durgappa Naik (Taland), Jagadish Narayan Naik (Karikal), Krishna Madev Naik (Muttalli), Nagaraj Madev Moger (Karikal), and Jagadish Somayya Naik (Benandur), along with 25 to 30 unidentified persons.

The second FIR was filed by PSI Timmappa Bedumane in connection with the April 9 protest outside the police station. This report names 10 individuals, several of whom were also mentioned in the earlier FIR, in addition to Devendra Mastappa Naik (Kandekodlu), Narayan Gonda (Kokti Nagar), and Rajendra Suryakant Naik (Kaikini, Murdeshwar). Another 30 to 35 unidentified persons have also been included in the complaint.