A public meeting held in support of D. Veerendra Heggade here on Saturday strongly condemned the “baseless allegations” levelled against the Dharmadhikari of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala and his family members. The meeting also demanded an impartial probe into the rape and death of a 17-year-old girl at Ujire last year.
Vishwesha Tirtha swami of Pejawar Math, Sugunendra Tirtha swami of Puttige Math, Nery Carnelio, general secretary of the Federation of Christian Associations, T.S. Budan Basha, president of District Wakf Board, Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, Kota Srinivas Poojary, MLC, and Deviprasad Shetty, president of the district unit of the Janata Dal (Secular), P. Yuvaraj, president of the Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) and Tallur Shivaram Shetty, president of Yakshagana Kalaranga, spoke.
Heranje Krishna Bhat, Director of Rashtrakavi Govinda Pai Research Centre, welcomed the gathering. Murali Kadekar, Secretary of Yakshagana Kalaranga, compered the programme.