The Kalaburagi City Police have barred Shrikant Shetty, an executive committee member of the Hindu Jagarana Vedike South Pranth, from entering the city ahead of his scheduled speech at the Hindu Mahaganapati festival on Thursday, October 1. Shetty, who hails from Karkala in Udupi district, was set to be the main speaker during the festival.
The 21‑day Hindu Mahaganapati festival, organized by a local committee in front of the Kalaburagi Fort since September 14, will conclude on October 4. Organizers have invited several speakers to deliver special addresses, and Shetty’s address was planned for the festival’s final week.
The police action followed reports from the Chowk police and the Assistant Commissioner of Police, North Sub‑Division, that Shetty had delivered provocative speeches at various locations in the past, raising law‑and‑order concerns. Between 2021 and 2026, six cases were registered against him at five police stations, and a rowdy sheet opened against him in 2023 remains active.
Based on those reports, the Kalaburagi City Police Commissionerate issued an order preventing Shetty’s entry into the city from September 30 to October 4, effectively blocking him from attending the festival.
