Man held in Raichur for allegedly morphing Priyank Kharge’s image

The accused allegedly edited a photograph of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by superimposing Kharge’s face on it and shared the image online.

Raichur: Sindhanur Rural police have arrested Pampesh, a resident of Huda village in Sindhanur taluk, for allegedly circulating a manipulated photograph of Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on social media.

The accused allegedly edited a photograph of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by superimposing Kharge’s face on it and shared the image online, triggering a complaint over the allegedly derogatory content.

Ramanna Gonwar approached the Sindhanur Rural police and filed a complaint against Pampesh. Following the complaint, police registered a case and arrested the accused. The investigation is under way.

The incident has occurred against the backdrop of an ongoing political dispute over the permission process for RSS route marches planned for Vijayadashami.

Kharge, who handles the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and IT-BT portfolios, has insisted that the RSS must follow the prescribed procedure before organising its marches. He has said that merely informing the local police or seeking their cooperation would not be sufficient to conduct such events.

According to the minister and the Home Department, organisations must submit applications in the prescribed format, furnish relevant details and wait for official approval. The procedure, the government argues, is necessary to ensure proper security arrangements, regulate traffic and deploy police personnel according to the scale of the event.

Kharge shared on social media a letter submitted to the Mahalakshmi Layout police station concerning the RSS’s proposed Vijayadashami route march in Bengaluru on October 21.

The government’s insistence on formal permission has drawn criticism from opposition leaders and RSS supporters. They have accused the Congress government of adopting a politically motivated approach towards the organisation and questioned why the issue has become contentious when similar marches have taken place in previous years.

Critics contend that the government is creating unnecessary complications in the name of permissions and administrative compliance. They have also alleged that the RSS issue is being highlighted for political advantage rather than being handled as a routine matter of public administration.

The government has defended its position, arguing that large public processions require advance planning and that the same rules should apply to every organisation. The authorities maintain that traffic management, public safety and law and order cannot be overlooked when large crowds move through city streets.

The arrest in the alleged social media post case and the dispute over RSS route marches are separate matters, though both have placed Minister Priyank Kharge at the centre of public and political attention in Karnataka.