Mandya:KR Pet Rural police have arrested a man accused of making derogatory remarks against Buddha, Basavanna and BR Ambedkar in a video that was allegedly circulated on social media, triggering protests and heightened security in Mandya district.Police registered an FIR against Vedamurthy, a native of Dodda Elachenahalli village in KR Pet taluk, who is currently residing in Bengaluru’s Raja Rajeshwarinagar, under various provisions of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes (prevention of atrocities) Act. The case was registered on Saturday evening based on a complaint filed by Jayaram of KR Pet.According to police, the alleged remarks came to light after the video surfaced on social media. The complainant alleged that Vedamurthy had used objectionable and derogatory language while speaking about the three revered figures. Mandya SP VJ Shoha Rani has constituted a special team to investigate the case, and police are verifying the authenticity of the video and examining available evidence.Acting on the complaint, KR Pet police traced Vedamurthy in Bengaluru and arrested him on Sunday before bringing him to the police station for questioning. News of the arrest drew a large crowd of activists and members of various Dalit organisations to the station, where they demanded stringent legal action against the accused.The situation turned tense as the crowd swelled, with some protesters demanding that the accused be handed over to them. To prevent any untoward incident, police shifted Vedamurthy to another location under tight security. He is expected to be produced before a court on Monday. Security has been intensified in and around the KR Pet police station to maintain law and order.
