Tipu Jayanti row: Journalist Santosh Thammaiah granted bail

Bengaluru, Oct 13: Ponnampet Civil Court on Tuesday granted bail to Santhosh Thammaiah, editor of magazine 'Aseema'. Thammaiah was arrested by the Bengaluru Police for allegedly making inflammatory comments against Prophet Mohammed and Tipu Sultan.

The state had observed Tipu Jayanti on Saturday (November 10) amid a faceoff between the ruling coalition and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Meanwhile, massive support has been pouring in for Santosh, who has authored several books on nationalism, and several groups have planned protests to demand his release.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has slammed the move, saying there is an Emergency-like situation in the state. The BJP has accused the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition of muzzling free speech in the state.

The party further called the development as an attempt to appease the minorities and said the state government of HD Kumaraswamy was against Hindus. The BJP said 'Hindus were under attack' and voices needed to be raised against the ruling coalition's 'political goondagiri'.