Three FIRs over unauthorised posters featuring Karnataka minister

Bengaluru (PTI): Three FIRs were registered for allegedly pasting unauthorised posters featuring Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on public walls, police said on Thursday.

The cases were registered following complaints filed by civic authorities under the Greater Bengaluru Authority on August 19, they said.

Two of the three FIRs were registered against a person identified as Shivakumar within the limits of Vidyaranyapura and Kodigehalli police stations for allegedly pasting posters on walls along public roads without obtaining official permission. The details of the third FIR were not immediately available.

Taking to social media platform X, the minister said three cases had been registered over the pasting of his posters.

"The case was booked under the Karnataka Open Places Disfigurement Act by Corporation (GBA) authorities. Case booked against the person who has put up my posters on walls and public places, causing disfigurement of public places. Corporation staff are also getting the walls cleared of these posters," he said, adding the hashtag 'No One Is Above Law'.

According to one of the FIRs, civic officials found during a routine inspection that paper posters had been illegally pasted on walls along public roads in Ward No: 10 of the Vidyaranyapura area under Vidyaranyapura sub-division without official permission.

The complainant said the posters had been put up on public walls without prior permission from the GBA authorities, affecting the city's "aesthetic" appearance and requiring civic staff to remove them, the FIR stated.

Further investigation is underway.