Sun Jun 01 10:14:35 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text:
**BJP Leader Booked for Threatening Muslim Community in Kalaburagi**
**Kalaburagi, June 1, 2025** – Manikanta Rathod, a BJP leader from Chittapur, has been booked by Kalaburagi police for allegedly making inflammatory and threatening statements against the Muslim community in a video that went viral on Saturday, May 31, 2025. The First Information Report was registered after a complaint filed by Syed Aleem Ilahi who claimed Rathod called for violence, uprooting the Muslim community, and targeting perpetrators of “Love Jihad” within eight days, inciting enmity between religious groups.
The case has been registered under sections 196, 197, 299, 253, and 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, at the CEN Crime Police Station in Kalaburagi.
In the video, Rathod, speaking in his Lambani language, references a recent rape of a Lambani girl, allegedly by Muslim youths. He is seen calling on his community to retaliate against Muslims, threatening mass violence if the police were to be held off for a short period. He also allegedly stated that “jihadis” must be eliminated, and the Muslim community should be “uprooted”.
Kalaburagi Police Commissioner S.D. Sharanappa confirmed the registration of the FIR, stating, “The FIR is registered and the investigation is on. Presently, [the] accused is not in Kalaburagi district. We will take action as per the law.”
This is not Rathod’s first encounter with legal trouble. He has a history of criminal activity, including cases related to smuggling PDS rice and threatening to murder Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and his family. He has previously been banished from Kalaburagi district and arrested in connection with a rice theft case. The BJP had fielded Rathod against Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge in the 2023 Assembly Elections, a race he lost despite significant campaigning efforts.
First Piper 