Yatnal’s supporters claim he got death threats over alleged insult to Prophet

The supporters of Basanagouda Patil Yatnal have alleged that the BJP MLA has received a threat of death from an anonymous person.

After a shared audio clip on social networks, Girish Bhandarkar, a follower of Mr. Yatnal, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, looking for Z Plus Security for MLA.

The clip, published by an unidentified young man, says that minority organizations would meet in Vijayapura on Tuesday to decide on the future course of protest against Mr. Yatnal and that it would be his last day. This follows an alleged insult from the prophet Mohammad by Mr. Yatnal during a recent meeting in Hubballi.

However, the Vijayapura police have appealed to people so that they do not believe in rumors and false statements that extend on social networks. The Superintendent or Police Laxman Nimbaragi said they were investigating the problem. “However, people should not believe in such messages. A formal complaint has not yet filed against the message,” he said on Friday.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Muslim organizations have urged the police to register a case and trial that the person responsible for the responsibility of the clip.

Abdul Hamid Mushrif, a member of KPCC, told reporters in Vijayapura on Saturday that the police should register a case against the Masscreats behind the audio clip and against Mr. Yatnal. “The MLA of the city has said that would tell Muslims to Jannat (heaven). What does it mean? It means that it will kill them. That is a direct threat of death. The police should also act against him,” he said. Mr. Mushrif said the community would warn about intensive agitation against Mr. Yatnal if he repeated to speak against the prophet.

Ma Khadri, community leader, denied that any organization or individual had issued an open threat to Mr. Yatnal. “Only cowards release such messages on social networks. Police should act against them,” he said. Mr. Khadri said there were no plans for any protest meeting in the city on Tuesday. “We can hold a meeting against the alleged statements of Mr. Yatnal in the future. But our protests will be peacefully,” he said.