Bengaluru: Ex-cop's WhatsApp post angers govt, may extern him

Bengaluru: Upset by the Whatsapp post by V. Shashidhar, a former policeman who had in 2016 tried to trigger an agitation among the state constabulary, the government is planning to either extern him till the state elections are over or put him behind bars on flimsy grounds.

The state government has come up with this plan after Shashidhar’s message went viral. He had stated, "The Congress should lose and democracy should win." He complained that Congress party has made politics a business, propagating casteism, supporting anti-nationals and backing dynastic politics. However he ended the message with caveat, saying it is a joke. 

The memo dated April 10 was reportedly sent from Police Commissioner’s office to station house officers of all the police stations in the city. It has also sought details of pending cases against Shashidhar, alias N.R.  Venugopal Naidu, and those for which he was detained and arrested earlier. In 2016, Shashidhar had given a call to police to join a strike and this had forced Siddaramaiah government to go on the defensive. 

The government brought in measures such as compulsory weekly offs and other benefits to policemen. Later Shashidhar was arrested for sedition and other grounds. Sources said that this time the govt is planning to keep him out of state till elections are over.