Mangalore: The Karavali Souharda Sangarsha Samithi staged a protest to condemn the arrest of Kasturi TV channel reporter Naveen Soorinje in connection with the home stay attack of July 28.

Addressing the protestors, B. Ramanath Rai, Congress leader and MLA, said that Naveen and the cameraman were arrested because they witnessed Hindu fundamentalist groups attacking girls and stripping them at the birthday party. The BJP is playing a new arrest game to suppress evidence, he alleged.

District secretary of the CPI (M) and Samithi secretary B. Madhava said that being a reporter, Naveen had reported the incident and disseminated the matter to the public. If he was not present on the occasion, then the Hindu outfits with the influence of government would vanish the proof.

The police department even charged the dacoity case against him, which has the punishment of lifetime imprisonment. Without any proof, the police department arrested him, this can be only possible only in our state, where there is no respect for republic, he said.

He also said that the arrest is nothing but assassination of the freedom of the press. He urged the police to release Soorinje immediately and withdraw the cases registered against him.

The BJP government is following the Germany’s fascist rule, he added.

MLA UT Khader ad that the incident of Home stay attack and the arrest of Naveen Soorinje, is not only condemned by the people of district, but even the chief minister Jagadish Shettar has stated in the assembly that the act was shameful to the state, where goondagiri is reach to the higher position.

Today BJP government brought the rule where victims are punished and jailed and accused are let free. This is not acceptable and we will fight for justice, he said.

Mayor Gulzar Banu, Sara Abubakkar, Sushil Naronha, Shashiraj Shetty, P. V. Mohan, T. K. Sudhir, Yadav Shetty, Muneer Katipalla, Corporator Appi, Sanjeeva, Ashraf, MohanMendon, Krisa Alva, and many others were present.