'Fake news specialist' Mahesh Vikram Hegde taken into custody over provocative letter; BJP stands with him

News Network
April 25, 2019

Bengaluru, Apr 25: Mahesh Vikram Hegde, the editor of Post Card News, which is notorious for producing fake news to promote BJP and to spread communal hatred, was taken into custody by the Karnataka police yesterday for circulating a fake and inciting letter that was falsely attributed to Karnataka home minister and Congress leader M B Patil to defame him and his party during Lok Sabha polls.

According to senior police officials, Mr Hegde, who was picked up from Virajpet in Kodagu, was only taken in for inquiry and was not arrested. 

Mr Patil had filed a complaint against former BJP MP Vijay Sankeshwar-owned Kannada daily Vijayavani, for carrying a copy of the fake letter with the former’s signature on 16 April.

The fake letter was in fact first carried by Mr Hegde’s portal just before the Karnataka Assembly elections last year. Though Mr Patil did not follow through with a complaint last year, he had taken it up after it appeared in the Kannada newspapers earlier this month, in which he named the role of Post Card News as well. The portal has since taken down the article fearing legal action.

The letter that has since been ruled as fake, was addressed to senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, which stated that the Congress had hatched a plan to unite the minority communities under faith and divide the Hindus based on caste and sect to help the party win the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The letter referred to capitalising on the “prevailing differences between the Veerashaiva-Lingayat" community to break up Hindu voters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alluded to the contents of the letter in an election rally in Bagalkot earlier this month, stating how the Congress had tried to divide the Lingayat community.

“This is done with the intention to polarise the votes," Patil had said at the time of filing a complaint with the police and Election Commission earlier this month.

BJP stands with him

The action by the police sparking off bitter reactions by state leaders of the BJP who accused H D Kumaraswamy-led Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government of misusing the police to carry out vendetta politics. The BJP IT cell even trended the hashtag #IStandWithMaheshHegde and encouraged him to continue such work. 

“Karnataka govt again arrested @mvmeet today! The only crime of Mahesh Vikram Hegde is that, he has been exposing the lies of Gandhi family. Height of Vendetta politics, Coalition govt is imposing real emergency. Shame!!," tweeted Shobha Karandlaje, the member of Parliament from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru.

C T Ravi, BJP leader and MLA of Chikkamagaluru tweeted: Realizing that their Unholy Alliance Government is on the death bed, CM @hd_kumaraswamy and @siddaramaiah have let loose State Police on Nationalists. I urge them to stop playing "Neech Politics" & do something good for the People in the remaining days. #IStandWithMaheshHegde

It can be recalled that Mr Hegde was arrested in March last year for spreading a fake news that a Jain monk was attacked by Muslims in Bengaluru. In reality, the monk was injured in a bike accident. He had used an image of the accident to paint a picture of attack by Muslims.

Comments

harsha vardan
 - 
Thursday, 25 Apr 2019

These type of Hegde are curse to humanity....let him begg and fill his family stomach instead of divide and fake news spreading...

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News Network
March 16,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 16: Stepping up measures to curb spread of coronavirus in the state, the Karnataka government would start thermal screening of visitors at various places including the vidhana soudha, high court, secretariat, and city civil courts, from Tuesday.

In view of coronavirus scare, screening of visitors has already begun at Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's residence at Dollar's Colony in the city.

A medical team has been deployed for the purpose, sources close to the CM told PTI. Medical screening of passengers arriving at the Kempegowda International Airport here was underway. So far seven people have been tested positive in the state while one of them died due to COVID-19 in Kalaburagi.

The Department of Health and Family Welfare said the procurement of equipment such as scanners would be completed by Monday.

"The procurement of scanners, other supplies, deputation of staff nurses and trainingshall be held and completed on March 16, Monday itself on war footing basissetting aside other works," Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare department, Pankaj Kumar Pandey said in his order to district level health officers.

The KarnatakaState Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society (KSDLWS) would procure and give the thermal scanners to the district health and family welfare officers of Bengaluru Urban, Kalaburagi, Dharwad, it said. Sufficient virus filtering N95 masks, handgloves and sanitisers would also be provided to the officers, it added.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 10,2020

Mangaluru, May 10: A delegation of Muslm community leaders called on Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Sindhu B Roopesh and discussed her about quarantine facilities for Indians returning from Gulf amidst covid-19 lockdown.

First evacuation flight from Dubai to Mangaluru will operate on May 12. Demand is mounting on the Centre to operate more flights from Gulf countries including UAE and Saudi Arabia.

International passengers will not be direct sent home after they land at any Indian airport. They will be divided into two categories. After screening at the airports, symptomatic will be sent directly to the covid-19 hospitals and asymptomatic and healthy will be sent for mandatory quarantine in designated hotel rooms and guest houses.

District administration has clarified that those who are under quarantine in hotels and guest houses will not be allowed to have outside food. Nor they will be allowed to contact anyone.

The delegation brought to the notice of DC that there will be many fasting Muslims among Gulf returnees and they need Suhoor and Iftar facility during Ramadan. The DC positively responded and assured that such facility will be arranged in the hotel rooms.

The delegation also asked about the claim of the officials of ministry of external affairs that delay in arranging quarantine facility in Karnataka delayed the evacuation flights from Gulf countries to the state. The DC said that the district administration has already made necessary arrangements for those who are coming to Dakshina Kannada.

Led by Mangaluru MLA U T Khader, the delegation comprised of JD(S) MLC B M Farookh, S M Rasheed Haji, Shafi Saadi, Mumtaz Ali, Kanchur Monu, B A Mohiuddin Bava, Ibrahim Kodichal, Rasheed Haji of Ullal Dargah and others.

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