A Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) worker named Shakunthala was apprehended by Karnataka Police following a contentious Twitter post she made targeting Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. High Grounds police took Shakunthala HS into custody for her derogatory tweet directed at the Chief Minister. Her post was in response to a tweet from the Congress party, which referred to a video incident in an Udupi paramedical college as an “innocent act of children,” and accused the BJP of politicizing the issue.
Shakunthala HS quoted the Congress party’s tweet and questioned whether the same thing would be said if the incident had happened to Siddaramaiah’s daughter-in-law or wife, challenging the perceived double standards.
The alleged derogatory posts targeting the Chief Minister were shared on both Twitter and Facebook, prompting a complaint at the High Grounds Police Station in Bengaluru. The police registered a case against Shakunthala HS and subsequently arrested her.
The incident Shakunthala referred to involved three female students at a paramedical college in Udupi who were reportedly caught filming a fellow student in the washroom without her consent. The college authorities suspended the three students, and an FIR was lodged against them and the college authorities for failing to produce evidence.
Last week, the incident came to light when an alert student discovered a mobile phone in the restroom and reported it to the college administration. An investigation into the device did not yield any compromising content, and the student chose not to file a police report. However, the college administration reported the incident to the police, leading to the suspension of the three students.
The Karnataka Home Minister, Dr G Parameshwara, emphasized that the government takes the incident seriously. He criticized the BJP’s interpretation of his statements, accusing them of misrepresentation.
In response to the incident, the BJP staged a protest march and a sit-in demonstration in Udupi, expressing their discontent with the three students’ actions and demanding a thorough investigation by the National Investigation Agency.