Congress accuses Goa Police of defying SC guidelines

The Congress Friday accused Goa Police of defying the Supreme Court guidelines by refusing to book Sri Rama Sene (SRS) chief Pramod Muthalik for a hate speech made in Goa some months back.

Addressing a press conference here, party spokesperson Durgadas Kamat said the party would be forced to approach the judiciary for registration of the offence.

"The police are blatantly violating Supreme Court guidelines on First Information Report (FIR) by not registering a complaint against Muthalik. They are also not paying heed to the home ministry's circular, which directs them to file an FIR without delay in a case involving grievous crimes," Kamat said.

The Congress spokesperson had filed a complaint with the Panaji police station against Muthalik citing a YouTube video (which was deleted after the FIR was filed), in which the SRS leader was seen exhorting Hindus to arm themselves with swords and use the weapon.

The video was recorded at a meeting of Hindu organisations in Goa some months back, but Muthalik repeated the same intentions during his election campaign in Karnataka's Mangalore city.

While the complaint has not been registered as an FIR yet, Deputy Inspector General K.K. Vyas told reporters Monday that it was still being examined and would be registered as soon as the police complete verification.