Kalaburagi police bar Hindu Jagarana Vedike leader from city during festival

Kalaburagi City Police have barred Hindu Jagarana Vedike South Pranth executive committee member Shrikant Shetty from entering the city ahead of a scheduled speech at the Hindu Mahaganapati festival. The restriction applies from September 30 to October 4. Shetty, from Karkala in Udupi district, had been invited to deliver the main address at the festival on October 1.

The 21-day festival has been organised in front of Kalaburagi Fort since September 14 and is scheduled to conclude on October 4. Organisers have invited speakers to deliver special addresses during the event. Police based the order on reports from the Chowk police and the assistant commissioner of police for the North Sub-Division.

Those reports alleged that Shetty had delivered provocative speeches in different places in the past and that his presence could create law-and-order concerns. According to the reports cited in the material, six cases had been registered against Shetty at five police stations between 2021 and 2026. A rowdy sheet was opened against him in 2023 and remained active, police said.

The Kalaburagi City Police Commissionerate issued the order after considering those reports. The supplied material does not include a response from Shetty, the festival organisers or any political group. It also does not specify the alleged content of the earlier speeches, the offences in the six cases or whether Shetty has challenged the entry restriction.

The order covers the full period remaining for the festival after its issuance.