Paresh Mesta Murder: BJP Plans Protest Rally On 19 December

Honnavar town in Karnataka was witness to a tragedy on 8 December as the body of a young Paresh Mesta was found in a badly mutilated state floating in a lake. As per media reports, Mesta’s head was split with a sword with boiling oil being poured on the face. However, a letter which journalist Shiv Aroor claimed to be from the medical officer conducting the post mortem examination, stated that no mutilations or external injuries were seen on the body and assigned the cause of death due to blunt force trauma.

The grizzly death of Mesta elicited protests from the public in parts of the Uttara Kannada district. If Mesta’s death was not terrifying enough, a schoolgirl from the very same town was stabbed with a knife on Thursday. As per this PTI report, authorities enforced prohibitory orders under Section 144 in the town to prevent escalation of violence.

Although the alleged murderers of Paresh and the recent assaulters are yet to be caught, the law enforcement authorities were quick to imprison 62 individuals who were protesting on 12 December while close to 106 criminal cases were filed against residents in Honnavara who were sharing information on Paresh Mesta's death on social media. The arrested individuals were given interim bail by the District Sessions Court on 14 December as there was no proof of them being involved in violence. The images shared below show a petition being filed on behalf of the protestors which suggests that the arrests of the protestors may be a part of an agenda.

The arrest of the innocent protesters has been criticised by Union Minister, Anant Kumar Hegde, who has decided to launch a "Jail Bharo" campaign from 19 December in Uttar Kannada district. The BJP will also hold a protest rally in Honnavar on 18 December to protest the murder of Paresh Mesta.