A First Information Report was registered against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pralhad Joshi on Saturday in Karnataka’s Hubballi district for allegedly making a communal remark in a speech, IANS reported.
During a speech on March 25, the Dharwad MP had reportedly said that several mosques in Sadar Sofa locality of Hubballi “illegally store weapons”. Joshi made this statement while he was visiting the family of Guru Sidappa, who was murdered in Hubballi earlier in March by unidentified people, India Today reported.
Joshi was accused of causing communal disharmony by attacking one religion, Additional Commissioner of Police NB Sakri said. “We have registered an FIR under Section 153 of the Indian Penal Code on Saturday against Joshi for his speech,” he said. Sakri claimed that Joshi was said to have compared the Sadar Sofa locality to Pakistan.
Members of various mosques in Hubballi and several Congress leaders had staged a protest on Friday demanding action against Joshi, claiming that he had tried to give a communal angle to the murder of Sidappa, Deccan Herald reported.
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