Manipal gang-rape accused Yogish's Bajrang Dal connection
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Jun 28: The arrest of three accused in the Manipal gang-rape case has brought to light an interesting fact.
It is said that Yogish, one of the arrested accused in the case pertaining to case, was a Bajrang Dal activist.
Yogish had worked both as an auto rickshaw and car driver. His name was added in the list of rowdy-sheeters maintained by Manipal police station in 2005.
His name also figured in several incidents relating to flaring of communal tensions. He was also involved with petty fights and disturbances, and five cases were registered against him. It is also learnt that Yogish was a former head of Bajrang Dal local unit.
A TV reporter, in a Facebook post pointed out the fact and recalled an incident in the past when Bajrang Dal had gone on protest over a case pertaining to the disappearance of a girl, only to find later that one of its own members was the main person involved.
During the protest held against the inaction of the police in solving the gang rape case, Bajrang Dal activists had strongly advocated involvement of members of particular community in the case, the Facebook post stated. In this protest, the elder brother of Yogish had participated as a Bajrang Dal activist, it is said.
Meanwhile, sources in Bajrang Dal denied the allegations and clarified that Yogish's brother had not participated in the protest, as he was being questioned by the police at the time. Also, the source claimed that though Yogish had been an active member of Bajrang Dal a few years back, he was not its member now. It was also claimed that he had turned a supporter of the Congress.