Kannada Actor arrested in Karnataka over his remarks on a judge hearing hijab petitions

Kannada film actor and activist Chetan Kumar A alias Chetan Ahimsa was arrested for allegedly making comments against a Karnataka High Court judge who is part of a bench hearing the batch of petitions challenging the ban on hijab in educational institutions. His arrest came days after he participated in a protest march organised by pro-Dalit organisations.

On Tuesday, the police said they registered a suo moto case against Chetan and recorded his arrest. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) MN Anucheth said he was charged under sections 505 (2) and 504 of the IPC.

Chetan Kumar on February 16 re-tweeted one of his old tweets about justice Krishna Dixit who had granted pre-arrest bail in an alleged rape case. On June 27, 2020, he had tweeted, “This week KA (Karnataka) High Court Justice Krishna Dixit grantd (granted) pre-arrest bail to rape-accused Rakesh B claiming ‘it is unbecoming of indian woman to sleep after rape; that is not way women react when they are ravished.’ What’s ‘unbecoming’ is 21st c (century) misogyny of this judiciary Dixit fossil.”

Retweeting the same, on February 16, he tweeted, “This is a tweet I wrote nearly two years ago regarding a Karnataka High Court decision. Justice Krishna Dixit made such disturbing comments in a rape case. Now this same judge is determining whether #hijabs are acceptable or not in govt schools. Does he have the clarity required?”

On Feb 19, a huge protest march was held in Bengaluru demanding the suspension of then principal district and sessions judge Mallikarjuna Gowda who allegedly objected to placing BR Ambedkar’s portrait next to Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait on Republic Day in Raichur. He was later transferred as presiding officer of the Karnataka State Transport Appellate Tribunal, Bengaluru.

The Dalit activists gathered in front of Sheshadripuram police station demanding answers as Chetan was taken into custody. Chetan’s wife Megha S who was near Sheshadripuram police station said, “I came to Sheshadripuram police station but they did not share any kind of information for more than four hours. They have just taken him from the home without even informing me despite I was inside house.”

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