Devarajegowda says his son was well educated and was given a proper upbringing 

Mysore/Mysuru: “I will support him if he has done any good for society, but let him be hanged if he has committed any wrongdoing against society.” These were the words of a distraught Devarajegowda, the father of 34-year-old D. Manoranjan, who was among those who intruded the Lok Sabha yesterday, spraying gas canisters.

Manoranjan and another accused, Sagar Sharma, obtained passes from the office of Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simmha for yesterday’s Session. Speaking to reporters at his house in Vijayanagar Second Stage last evening, Devarajegowda said that his son has a collection of 4,000 to 5,000 books. 

“I condemn the act by my son. This should not have been done and is wrong; nobody should engage in anything like that. If my son has done anything commendable, I, of course, support him. But if he has done something wrong, I strongly condemn it. Let him be held accountable if he has harmed society.”

Family hailed from Hassan

Originally from Arkalgud in Hassan district, the family moved to Mysuru 15 years ago for the son’s education. The land in Hassan has been developed by Devarajegowda for his son to lead an independent life, with provisions for poultry and sheep rearing. Manoranjan finished his high school education at St. Joseph’s School and his PUC at Marimallappa’s College in Mysuru.

He later did his Engineering in Bengaluru at Bangalore Institute of Technology (BIT). However, Principal of BIT Dr. M.U. Ashwath told reporters this morning that Manoranjan had not completed his Engineering degree and had dropped out.

“Every single person known to the family will vouch for Manoranjan’s good character, and he did not cause any trouble in Vijayanagar and was well-behaved.  We gave him the best education. We come from a good family and do not have connections with any organisations or political parties,” Manoranjan’s father said.

No bad habits 

“We have given him a proper upbringing but had no idea what he would do. What happened today in Parliament, let it be done by anybody, be it my son or any other person, I vehemently condemn it,” Devarajegowda said.

“One thing I would like to reiterate is that my son always had the feeling that he must serve society. We were forcing him to marry as he was already 34 years of age, but he asked us to wait as he kept saying he wanted to do something to help people, especially the downtrodden. Apart from that, he has no other bad or evil intentions. He did not have any other bad habits like smoking or drinking.”

“My son had just one ideology — to serve the community. He had limited expenditure, and he used to take money from me. He used to go to our property in Arkalgud and he used to help me whenever we grew crops and plantations. Otherwise, he would stay at home. Sometimes he would go to Bengaluru,” Devarajegowda said.

A bookworm and wanted to serve society

This incident has shocked me. My son told me that he is going to Bengaluru. I was not aware of his Delhi visit. He is innocent and is not associated with any organisation or anti-social elements. He is a bookworm, and I always see him reading books, especially those of Swami Vivekananda and wanted to do something on his own, Devarajegowda said.

Manoranjan learnt boxing and used to teach it to children he knew. He volunteered to help the poor and distressed. He is interested in farming and helped in agriculture. “I even asked him to get married, but he did not show any interest.

I know my son has always been honest. He always spoke of doing something good for society, even if it meant making sacrifices. As he was a good person and behaved well, we had deep trust in him and were not pestering him about his activities,” he said.