RSS man who announced Rs 1 crore for Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's head arrested

Chandrawat was arrested yesterday and later produced before the chief judicial magistrate's court which sent him to judicial custody.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (File | PTI)

BHOPAL: Former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Kundan Chandrawat has been arrested in Ujjain for having allegedly announced Rs 1 crore bounty on Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s head.

Chandrawat was arrested and produced before the court of chief judicial magistrate in Ujjain, about 190 km from state capital Bhopal, on Monday. The CJM sent Chandrawat to judicial custody, after which he was lodged at the Bherugarh Central Jail, SP city (Ujjain) Satish Samadhia told New Indian Express.

At a meeting of Jan Adhikar Samiti in Ujjain on March 1, Chandrawat, then RSS Ujjain Mahanagar Prachar Pramukh had announced `1 crore bounty on the Kerala CM’s head holding the latter responsible for deaths of around 300 RSS workers in Kerala.

He had offered to hand over his property worth around `1 crore to “anyone who beheads Vijayan and bring the Kerala CM’s head”.

Chandrawat’s speech had left the RSS red-faced, after which the organisation had removed him as its office bearer. He had later retracted his statement which drew widespread condemnation from various quarters, including the Sangh, and had expressed regret over his outburst. The RSS had distanced itself from its functionary’s remark and promptly removed him
from the post of Sah Prachar Pramukh (joint publicity chief) of Ujjain district.

Meanwhile, the Madhav Nagar police in Ujjain had filed a complaint against Chandrawat for his explosive statements which caused fear among the public. However, the Ujjain police managed to arrest him only 25 days later on Monday. Earlier in March, Chandrawat had alleged that his Facebook account has been hacked and he received death threats. Chandrawat’s statement had come in the wake of continuing violent clashes between the CPM and the RSS cadre in the northern regions of Kerala, with many political killings on both sides.

(With PTI inputs)