The Bengaluru Police in Karnataka arrested an assistant priest on Saturday after he allegedly used abusive language against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah while criticizing the decision to invite Booker Prize winner Banu Mustaq to inaugurate the upcoming Mysuru Dasara festival.
The assistant priest, identified as Gururaj Achar, worked at the Ganapathi temple run by the Sri Raghavendra Swamy Seva Samiti Trust. A police officer said, “while speaking to a YouTube news channel, Achar criticised Siddaramaiah’s decision and used derogatory language against him.”
The Kengeri police registered a suo motu case, arrested Achar and later released him on station bail. Following the arrest, the temple trust announced that Achar had been suspended from his position and condemned his remarks.
In a separate case, the police filed charges against a Panchayat Development Officer in Kalaburagi district for posting a derogatory WhatsApp status targeting Siddaramaiah. Officials said Praveenkumar Udagi, attached to the Suntanur gram panchayat, had shared a morphed image on August 21 that showed the chief minister wearing a skullcap. Udagi has been suspended pending an inquiry.
Earlier in May, a warder at Mysuru Central Prison was suspended and arrested after a video circulated on social media in which he was seen using abusive language against Siddaramaiah. The warder, identified as Madhu Kumar, was arrested by the Bettadapura police.