BANGALORE: BV Seetaram, the editor-in-chief of the Mangalore-based evening newspaper Karavali Ale has demanded the resignation of Home Minister VS Acharya for acting against the interest of the freedom of the press.
Seetaram alleged that it was on the instigation of the Home Minister that he was arrested and handcuffed, while his newspaper circulation network was attacked and eight new criminal cases were filed against him within a week of his arrest.
Home Minister Acharya's biased attitude is (also) the root cause of the deteriorating law and order scenario in coastal Karnataka, he said. Further, he has requested the state government not to challenge his compensation petition of Rs 50 lakh to cover its loss and has also asked to withdraw all the cases filed against him.
The 54-year-old Kannada journalist was arrested on January 4 on charges of “promoting enmity between two religious groups, outraging religious feelings of a community and assertions prejudicial to national integration,” under sections 153(A), 153(B) and 295(A) of the Indian Penal code.
