Bengaluru: In an overnight move, the police arrested the propagandist of police mass leave agitation on the wee hours of Thursday.

The police arrested Shashidhar Venugopal, the motivator of the agitation and recovered handbills, desktop and other documents from his residence at New Yelahanka town.

Later, he was produced before the district magistrate and taken into custody for 14 days.

“A case has been registered at Yelahanka New Town police station and Karnataka police association president Shahidhar has been arrested and presented before local court which remanded him to judicial custody till June 16,” said Bengaluru Police Commissioner N.S. Megharikh.

According to highly placed sources, several cases including a case of sedition has been slapped on Shashidhar.

Shashidhar claims himself as the president of an organisation called ‘Police Maha Sangha’ which according to the police is an unauthorized organization.

According to sources, Shashidhar is being interrogated in an undisclosed location.

The latest development has drawn criticism from several corners of the society as the arrest is biased.

Earlier on Tuesday, Karnataka government stringently warned against the planned agitation and invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) for maintaining public order and safety across the State.

Despite the warning, the Karnataka state police association which includes a 60,000 constabulary force has decided to push forward with their en masse leave on Saturday.