Dakshina Kannada: An FIR has been filed against Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja for allegedly verbally abusing and threatening a police sub-inspector at the Belthangady police station.
The MLA staged a protest outside the Belthangady police station on Saturday night, condemning the arrest of a rowdy sheeter and BJP Yuva Morcha leader, Shashiraj Shetty, who is accused of illegal stone quarrying.
During the sit-in protest, MLA Poonja, along with his supporters, reportedly threatened Belthangady PSI Muralidhar Naik. Angered, the MLA asked the PSI whether the police station was his father’s property, blaming him for the arrest of the BJP worker.
Poonja alleged that the police arrested the BJP worker without proper documentation, in front of his children and other family members. He claimed that Shashiraj Shetty was innocent and demanded his immediate release from custody.
A team led by the Tahsildar conducted a raid on a stone quarry in Belathangy’s Melantbettu.