Raichur: Members of Dalita Sene and Samana Manaskara Vedike staged a protest at Ambedkar Circle on Wednesday opposing the relocation of activist Mahesh Shetty Thimarody to Raichur district following his externment from Dakshina Kannada.
On September 23, the Assistant Commissioner of Puttur ordered Thimarody’s externment from Dakshina Kannada for one year, directing him to shift to Raichur immediately.
Samana Manaskara Vedike district president Maruthi Badiger told Deccan Chronicle that their opposition was not to the externment order itself but to Thimarody being sent to Raichur.
“We are not against the officers’ action—it is a legal step. But we do not want him in our district. Raichur has no communal tensions. People of all religions live here in harmony. We do not want Mahesh Shetty, who faces several cases including under the Arms Act, to enter our district,” he said.
Badiger emphasised that Raichur has one of the lowest crime rates in the state and its communal harmony must be preserved. He also questioned the rationale behind the order, pointing out that Puttur Assistant Commissioner Stella Verghese had earlier served as probationary Executive Officer in Manvi taluk. “Now she has issued the externment order sending him to Manvi taluk,” he remarked.
The protesters warned that if the order is not withdrawn, they would intensify their agitation, take it to villages, and stage demonstrations in front of elected representatives.