The Dakshina Kannada police on Friday arrested Hindu Jagarana Vedike (HJV) leader Jagadish Karanth in Bengaluru for allegedly making speech hurting religious sentiments.

The Puttur Rural police sou motu registered a case against Karanth following his reported inflammatory speech in the HJV's protest meeting in Puttur on September 15. Apart from speaking against Puttur Rural Sub Inspector Abdul Khader and staff in a demeaning way, he reportedly spoke in a way that hurts religious sentiments of minority community. He also reportedly threatened of creating communal riots in the region.

After registering the case, the police prepared a transcript of Karanth's speech. They also sent the voice sample for testing from Forensic Science Laboratory to confirm that the speech was his. After seeking legal opinion, a police team went to Bengaluru and arrested him.