Case booked against me and 36 others under pressure from Sorake: MP Kota Srinivas Poojary

MP Kota Srinivas Poojary claims case against him and 36 others was filed under pressure from former minister Vinay Kumar Sorake.

Kota Srinivas Poojary, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP, accused former minister Vinay Kumar Sorake of putting pressure on the Udupi district police to file charges against him, Kaup MLA, Gurme Suresh Shetty, and 35 others, following the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Koti-Chennayya Udupi Jodu Kare Kambala at 80-Badagubettu village on Saturday.

Talking to reporters in Udupi on Monday, Mr. Poojary said the Udupi Jodu Kare Kambala Samiti, headed by the Kaup MLA, organised the ceremony on the 6.3 acres of government land earmarked by the Udupi District Administration for Kambala. He, along with other MLAs, attended the event.

By forcing Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar to file a case against him and 36 others, the government has set a bad precedent of threatening elected representatives and others with criminal cases, the MP alleged. He also alleged that it was under Mr. Sorake’s pressure that Deputy Commissioner T.K. Swaroopa issued orders on Friday declaring the earmarked land as a prohibited area.

In another press meet on Monday, Mr. Sorake accused the Kaup MLA and others of violating prohibitory orders and proceeding with the ceremony. Accusing the samiti of encroaching on additional land for the kare, Mr. Sorake said that around 10 families were farming on government land and had submitted applications for regularisation of their usage. He also alleged that a portion of land earmarked for Kambala was in the reserve forest area and that the Forest Department has booked a case against the samiti.

Ruling out the presence of a reserve forest near the place allotted for Kambala, Deputy Conservator of Forest, Kundapur, P. Ruthren, said a case was booked for the felling of trees on government land without the necessary permission from the Forest Department..

The Manipal police on February 28 booked a case of unlawful assembly, rioting, and criminal trespass against Mr. Poojary, Mr. Shetty, MLAs Yashpal Suvarna, V. Sunil Kumar, A. Kiran Kumar Kodgi, Gururaj Gantihole, Harish Poonja, and Rajesh U. Naik, MLC Dhananjay Sarji, and others. They were accused of violating prohibitory orders issued by Ms. Swaroop and conducting the foundation stone laying ceremony.