Clashes break out between 2 groups in Mandya, 52 held
A few people, including two policemen, sustained minor injuries in stone-pelting. The situation has been brought under control and additional security forces have been deployed
PTI
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Janata Dal (Secular) leader Suresh Gowda during a visit to the areas affected by violence during Ganesh idol immersion, at Nagamangala town in Mandya district on Thursday. PHOTO: PTI
Nagamangala (Karnataka), 12 Sept
Clashes broke out between two
groups during a Ganesh idol immersion procession here following which mobs went
on a rampage targeting several shops and vehicles leading to a tense situation.
Police said 52 people have been
arrested following Wednesday night's incidents and prohibitory orders
preventing the assembly of more than four people have been imposed in this town
in Mandya district till September 14 as a precautionary measure.
A few people, including two
policemen, sustained minor injuries in stone-pelting. The situation has been
brought under control and additional security forces have been deployed, they
said.
According to police, an argument
broke out between two groups, when the Ganesh idol procession by devotees from
Badarikoppalu village reached a place of worship on Wednesday, and some
miscreants hurled stones, which escalated the situation.
Following the clashes between the
two groups, a few shops were vandalised and goods torched and vehicles set on
fire on Wednesday night, they added. Police used mild force to disperse the
crowd to control the situation. The group of youth that carried out the
procession halted and staged a protest near the police station, demanding
Immediate arrest of those responsible for the violence.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said
the violence is an act of miscreants which threatens the peace and tranquility
of the society. The government, he said, has taken the incident seriously and
warned that ruthless action will be taken against those trying to create a
divide on religious grounds, regardless of caste or religion. "I request the public to cooperate with
us by maintaining peace and exercising restraint without succumbing to
incitement," he said on 'X'.
Home Minister G Parameshwara said
the clashes cannot be termed as "communal violence" as he maintained
that the incident happened on the "spur of the moment".
He told reporters in Bengaluru that
52 people have been arrested from "both sides", and after reviewing
CCTV footage about their involvement in the incidents like stone-pelting and
torching of vehicles and properties, cases will be registered against them.
When told that a petrol bomb was
allegedly hurled and and asked whether the incident was pre-planned, he said:
"no, no, it (the incident) has happened immediately on the spur of the
moment. Police have not allowed it to escalate further and have brought things
under control."
According to police, 53 people have
been named in the FIR. "The situation has now returned to normalcy in
Nagamangala town. People are going about their day-to-day activities. Shops are
open. We have deployed additional forces from Karnataka State Reserve Police
along with other police officials including those in civil clothes,"
Mandya Superintendent of Police Mallikarjun Baldandi told PTI on Thursday.
A case has been registered for
unlawful assembly, attempt to murder, obstructing public servants, destruction
of public property and other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Mandya District in-charge Minister
N Cheluvarayaswamy said the situation is peaceful and under control now. "Our
Nagamangala is the abode of peace and harmony. We will not tolerate any attempt
to create unrest here. I request the public not to listen to any rumors and
cooperate in restoring peace," he said in a post on 'X'.
Following the incidents, the
opposition BJP and JD(S) attacked the Congress government.
Leader of Opposition in Karnataka
Assembly R Ashoka (BJP) alleged that the "attack" on Ganesh idol
procession is a direct fallout of 'appeasement politics'. Ashoka alleged:
"stones were hurled, swords brandished and crude bombs thrown at Ganesh
Visarjan Procession. Are we living in Karnataka or Taliban?"
"Emboldened by the appeasement
politics of @INCKarnataka Govt, a violent muslim mob brutally attacked the Ganesh
Visarjan Procession Nagamangala last night," he alleged.
Union Minister for Heavy Industries
and Steel and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said the incident is proof of
'failure' of law and order in the state.
He also warned that "bad days
are not far" for the Congress party if it does not stop 'appeasement
politics.' "It is the proof of 'failure of law and order' in the town that
the miscreants of a community deliberately raised a ruckus by targeting the
devotees who were walking peacefully in the procession of God Ganapati,
throwing stones and slippers on public and policemen, exploding petrol bombs
and brandishing swords," Kumaraswamy said.
He also alleged that the incident
was a result of 'overindulgence and appeasement' of a particular community by the
Congress party and state government for political gain.
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