Hindutva activist Puneeth Kerehalli
Credit: X@Puneeth74353549
Firebrand Hindutva activist Puneeth Kerehalli has been booked by police over scuffle at a newly-opened mall in northern Bengaluru, officials said.
Kerehalli and several of his associates are accused of barging into the Phoenix Mall of Asia in Byatarayanapura on December 23 and getting into an argument with security guards over a large Christmas tree arranged inside the shopping complex. They objected to the Christmas tree and demanded why the mall authorities hadn't put up a replica of the Ram Mandir being constructed in Ayodhya. The group also raised the Jai Shree Ram slogans.
Another peeve of theirs was the Rs 200 entry fee allegedly being charged by the mall authorities. They called it illegal.
When no member of the mall management came forward to speak to the group, Kerehalli and his associates picked an argument with the guards at the security gates and almost got into fisticuffs with them. But before things could get out of hand, a patrol car arrived at the scene, and the cops hauled up the men to the Kodigehalli police station.
Following a complaint from the mall's security manager Stephen Victor, police have booked a total of five suspects for unlawful assembly, giving death threats and causing public nuisance.
Further investigations are underway.
A native of the Hassan district and a resident of Bengaluru, 32-year-old Kerehalli is known for cow vigilantism and espousing other Hindutva causes.
In April, during the height of the Karnataka assembly election canvassing, Kerehalli was arrested for murder following the death of a goods vehicle driver named Idrees Pasha in Sathanur, Ramanagar district. The group accused the driver of transporting cows for slaughter and allegedly asked him to go to Pakistan. The driver was found dead hours later.
In August, police booked Kerehalli under the Goonda Act, which provides for imprisonment without charge for up to a year. But a court ordered his release for lack of evidence.
Kerehalli faces at least 10 criminal cases.