The Haveri Police in Karnataka has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Tejasvi Surya for making a false claim regarding the suicide of a farmer in the district. Surya had alleged that the farmer, Rudrappa Channappa Balikai, took his own life after his land was claimed by the Waqf board.

According to the FIR filed on Thursday, Surya claimed on social media that Balikai committed suicide after discovering that his land had been "taken over by the Waqf," and further blamed Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan for allegedly unleashing "catastrophic effects in Karnataka." Surya's post also referred to a news article from a Kannada newspaper, which he has since deleted.