Threat to judges: 2 accused brought to city

NT Correspondent

Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Tuesday said that the accused in the case pertaining to the reported threat to the special bench judges of the High Court of Karnataka have been brought to Bengaluru by the state police for further investigation of the matter.

“The person has been brought here from Madurai by Karnataka police after producing a body warrant. His name is Rahamathulla,” Jnanendra said.

Kovai Rahamathulla was arrested from Tirunelveli and S Jamal Mohammad Usmani was taken into custody from Thanjavur on Saturday. The accused are office-bearers of the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaat, according to sources.

A video of the accused went viral in which he is purportedly instigating violence against the Karnataka judges. In his speech, the accused mentioned a district judge in Jharkhand being mowed down last year when the latter was out on a morning walk. He went on to state that people know where the chief justice of Karnataka takes his morning walks.

Following the alleged threats, the Karnataka government accorded the three judges with Y-category security.

Senior officers of the Bengaluru police said that they have also registered a first information report (FIR) regarding the video that has been circulating online showing the accused allegedly issuing threats to the judges. According to sources, an FIR had been registered based on the complaint by an advocate Sudha Katwa.

Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said the police are keeping a close watch on arrests made in Tamil Nadu over the matter. “Since we have registered a case in this regard, we will continue our investigation. We will watch the investigation closely as of now and take a call on further action. As of now, we have not asked for the custody of the others,” he said.

Meanwhile, advocate Umapathi has filed a representation with the registrar general of the high court in this regard. The Advocates’ Association Bengaluru has condemned the development of the police stepping up security measures for the high court judges.