Mangaluru: Altaf (29), a resident of Dharmanagar in Mastikatte of Ullal, who was involved in a number of offences and crimes, has been booked under the Goonda Act 1985.
He is said to have been an active member of the ‘Target’ group, notoriously known for undesirable and anti-social activities in Ullal during the past years, according to police records.
Altaf has as many as a dozen cases filed against him in Ullal police station alone.
He was wanted in connection with a murder attempt in Chokkabettu near Suratkal and had been at large thereafter.
He was arrested by Ullal police sub-inspector (crime) Rajendra last month. The Goonda Act provides that anyone who gets involved in 12 cases which are punishable up to 7 years of imprisonment is liable to be booked under it.
Now Altaf has been sent to Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) jail.
The Goonda Act:
The Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-offenders, Gamblers, Goondas (Immoral Traffic Offenders, Slum-grabbers and Video Pirates) Act 1985 is more commonly known as the Goonda Act.
A few years ago, it was amended to include a new category, that of video and audio pirates, under the Indian Copyright Act 1957 and the Information Technology Act 2000.
Legal experts and police say that the following rules will apply to anyone charged under the Goonda Act.
1. He / she cannot file a bail application for charges in any previous case.
2. No one, including his / her lawyers and relatives, can visit him / her in the jail.
3. Only the DGP of prisons is competent official to approve of such a visit.
4. He / she cannot question his / her detention under the Act, except through a caveat in the state high court much before the invocation of the Act.
Target group from Ullaala? Since there is no other description, it’s safe to assume that the group has members from very diverse background – Brahmana to Jain. Also, it’s very safe to assume that this group is no threat compared to VHP which is notoriously known for organizing ‘saarvajanika ganeshotsava’ in every town!!!