Mangaluru: A resident of Bellare here, who gave energy minister D.K. Shivakumar a dressing-down over phone following the power crisis in his village, was arrested by the police.
The incident took place on Sunday. Former president of Bellare Merchants Union, Sai Giridhar Rai was arrested by Sullia police for allegedly scolding MESCOM officials and the minister and for deterring a public servant from discharging his duty. Sullia, Bellare and nearby areas have been witnessing power cuts since a month. Villagers allege that on some days, remote areas fail to get power for 3 hours a day. On Saturday, Rai decided to call the energy minister and bring this problem to his notice but the minister did not receive the call.
He again tried calling on Sunday and succeeded. “Around 7 pm, Rai called D.K. Shivakumar and told him about the problem. There was a heated exchange and the call got disconnected,” a person close to Rai told DC. “After some time, police arrived at Rai’s house. When his family told them that Rai would come to the station on Monday, the officials allegedly entered the house through the roof and took Rai to the station,” sources said.
