The Puttur Town police secured seven more persons in connection with the display of a banner near Puttur KSRTC bus stand on Monday, which showed BJP State president Nalin Kumar Kateel and former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda in a poor light.
The poster with photos of Mr. Kateeel and Mr. Gowda stating “condolence to those who are reason for BJP’s shameful defeat” had come up on the compound wall of the Forest Department’s office, which is opposite the bus stand.
A garland of slippers was placed on it. Images of this poster was widely shared on social media.
The Puttur City Municipal Council took action to remove the poster. Municipal Commissioner Madhu S. Manohar filed a complaint with the Puttur Town police seeking action against persons who have put up the poster under Section 3 of Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act 1981.
The police had registered the complaint and questioned Vishwanath and Madhava, both residents of Narimogaru village of Puttur raluk on Monday.
On Tuesday, the police secured Abhi alias Avinash, Shivaram, Chaitresh, Eshwar, Nishanth, Dikshith, and Guruprasad for questioning.
The Bharatiya Janata Party workers, led by former Puttur MLA Sanjeeva Matandoor, carried out a protest on Monday in which Mr. Matandoor accused newly-elected MLA Ashok Kumar Rai’s involvement in the incident.
Distancing himself from the incident, Mr. Rai, in a statement, said neither he nor the Congress workers were involved in such a “shameful” act.
While asking the police to find all the accused persons involved in the act, Mr. Rai said the BJP workers and Mr. Matandoor are making unfounded allegations to vent out their frustration over the defeat in the Assembly elections.
