Dharwad: The police are awaiting in front of SDM Hospital on Hubli-Dharwad Road to arrest the Kannada tabloid Hi Bangalore’s publisher Ravi Belagere after the Legislative Assembly Privilege Committee recommended a year’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 on the writer in connection with publishing defamatory article against a member of the lower house.
Complaining of illness, Ravi Belagere left his farm house in Joida in Uttara Kannada district in the wee hours of this morning to get admitted at SDM Hospital near Dharwad.
After police failed to trace him in Joida, they rushed to SDM hospital to arrest him and are awaiting clearance from hospital authorities.
Meanwhile, Medical Director at SDM Hospital Dr. Niranjan Kumar said,“ Ravi Belagere’s health condition is stable and we are awaiting three more reports to treat him further” and added, “a team of specialist doctors are keeping constant tab on his health.”
It may be recalled that a house committee recommended a jail term of 1 year and fine of Rs 10,000 on a complaint filed by a Congress MLA for defamatory statements by Belagere.
The secretariat had instructed the police department to arrest Ravi Belegere of Hi Bangalore and Anil Raj of “Yelahanka Voice” immediately in order to implement the order passed by the house committee.
N S Murthy, Secretary in the secretariat, had accordingly written a letter asking Additional Chief Secretary of Internal Administration to implement the house committee recommendations with immediate effect.
Reacting to the arrest move, Ravi Belagere cautioned speaker to stay away from fire brand journalists like him and vowed to carry the fight unto death. Rebutting the charges, Belagere said, the move was arbitrary and intended to crush the freedom of speech. He would challenge the house committee recommendations in the high court and later in the Supreme Court if required, failing which commit suicide but not remain idle watching the proceedings like speaker K B Koliwad, he expressed.
