Case registered against 17 for arson at Mudhol sugar factory

BAGALKOT: A case has been registered against 17 farmer leaders, including Gangadhar Meti, in connection with the vandalism and arson incident at the Godavari Sugar Factory near Samirawadi in Mudhol taluk where sugarcane-laden tractors were set on fire last week.

Meti, a farmer leader from Mudhol, has released a video statement from India Gate in Delhi, claiming that he was falsely implicated in the case. Meti stated that he was on a pilgrimage tour to Kashi with a group of people, starting from Banashankari on November 8. They travelled through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, and reached Kashi on November 12. He claimed that he was at the Kashi Vishwanath temple on the day of the incident and had no knowledge of the events that transpired at the factory.

Meti further stated that social activist Yallappa Hegde later informed him about the incident and told him that an FIR had been filed against him. Meti expressed his disappointment and stated that he was not involved in the incident and that the FIR was filed with malicious intent.

The FIR was filed based on a complaint by Teradal PSI Shivananad, who alleged that a group of people had vandalized the factory and set fire to tractors, causing damage to property and injuring police personnel.

Meti emphasized that the Mudhol farmers’ association, which he is a part of, has a history of peaceful and Gandhian struggles, and that they would never indulge in violent activities. He demanded that the authorities take action against the actual perpetrators and not harass innocent farmer leaders.

Meti also questioned the logic of filing an FIR against him and 16 others, stating that he was in Kashi at the time of the incident and could not have been present at the factory. He appealed to the authorities to review the FIR and remove his name from it.