Amid tensions over the 'illegal' construction in a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area in Himachal Pradesh, a communal clash in Karnataka's Mandya during Ganesh idol procession led to the arrest of 46 persons.
The procession in the Nagamangala town turned violent after clashes broke out between two groups on Wednesday night. Among those injured were two policemen, who sustained minor injuries in the stone-pelting.
Meanwhile, in Shimla, clashes between protesters and the police left 10 persons injured. The Hindu rights group had called for a bandh on Wednesday, during which they set out to march towards the mosque in Sanjauli.
However, security was tightened at several places in view of the prohibitory orders imposed by the Shimla administration. This led to the protesters' clash with the police, prompting forces to baton charge them and use water cannons to disperse the large crowds.
KARNATAKA PROCESSION CLASH
According to police, an argument broke out between two groups when the Ganesh idol procession carried out by devotees from the Badarikoppalu village arrived at a place of worship on Wednesday. Miscreants had hurled stones at them, leading to the escalation of the situation.
Amid the clashes between the two groups, few shops were vandalised and vehicles were also set on fire.
46 Persons Arrested
Police arrested 46 persons in connection with the violent clash that took place between two groups in Karnataka's Mandya during a Ganesh idol procession on Wednesday night.
Mandya Superintendent of Police, Mallikarjun Baldandi, told news agency PTI, that they have arrested 46 people regarding the incident. "The situation has now returned to normalcy. People are going about their day-to-day activities. Shops are open. We have deployed additional force from Karnataka State Reserve Police along with other police officials including those in civil clothes."
Officials said that additional security forces have also been deployed and prohibitory orders preventing the assembly of four or more people have been imposed in the area till September 14.
A case in connection with Wednesday's incident has been registered for unlawful assembly, attempt to murder, obstructing public servants, destruction of public property, and other sections of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
Oppn Blames Karnataka Govt
Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, on Thursday blamed the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government for the "collapse" of the law and order situation in the state, alleging that the attack on Ganesh idol procession is a direct result of "appeasement politics".
Taking to microblogging site X, Ashoka alleged that stones were hurled, swords brandished and crude bombs were thrown at the Ganesh Visarjan Procession. "Are we living in Karnataka or Taliban?" he asked.
"After Pakistan Zindabad slogans raised in Vidhan Soudha and bomb blast in Rameshwaram Cafe, this yet another glaring example of how Congress govt has let the anti-national elements capture the state leading to complete collapse of law and order," he said.
He claimed that the clash was a direct fallout of CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar's "dangerous game of appeasement politics which has emboldened anti-national elements and tukde tukde gang."
"Congress Govt will pay a huge price for this attack on Hindus," he warned, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the post.
CM Siddaramaiah Reacts
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issued a statement on the matter, saying that it is clear that the incident "is an act of miscreants which threatens the peace and tranquility of the society".
"The government has taken this very seriously. More than 50 people have already been arrested in this connection and our first priority is to maintain peace and order in the society," the CM said.
He said that in the past one and a half years, if anyone -- irrespective of caste, creed or religion -- has tried to disturb the tranquility of a peaceful state like Karnataka, has been subjected to harsh consequences.
Siddaramaiah requested the public to cooperate with the government by maintaining peace and restraint without succumbing to incitement.
SHIMLA MOSQUE ROW
Since last week, Hindu right groups have been protesting over the alleged illegal construction in a mosque in Sanjauli area, demanding demolition of the portion built without authorisation.
We Will Demolish Unauthorised Part: Muslim Panel
Commissioner Bhupinder Kumar Attri said that the president of the Sanjauli Masjid Management Committee and Maulvi Shahjad have sent a proposal over the mosque row.
"They had come to me along with 15-20 other people and submitted a written representation requesting that the Nagar Nigam should seal the portion of the mosque which is considered to be illegal," Attri said.
The proposal has also stated that the court's decision will be honoured and if it finds the mosque to be illegal, then the committee itself will do whatever is required to maintain peace and harmony.
Meanwhile, Qutab Mosque's Imam said that they have only demanded for the illegal portion to be closed at the moment. "...the part which is proved illegal, then either the corporation demolish it or else we will demolish it," he added.
"We saw that the communal harmony is being affected, we want it to be in tact in the country. We will also talk on the matter of Mandi. We don't have a problem on that," the Imam said.
The Muslim panel, in an official meeting, reiterated its stance to the municipal corporation, asking it to seal the unauthorised portion, adding that the committee itself will demolish that part.
Shimla Vyapar Mandal Bandh
As yesterday's protests resulted in baton charge on the demonstrators, the Shimla Vyapar Mandal called for a half-day bandh to protest against the police action. Mandal president Sanjeev Thakur said that the bandh would be from 10 am to 1 pm, adding that protests and demonstrations would take place at various places.
The Wednesday Protests
Slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" and "Hindu Ekta Zindabad" were heard on the streets of Shimla as hundreds of protesters on the Sabzi Mandi Dhalli marched towards Sanjauli market.
The assembly of such a large crowd clearly violated the prohibitory orders imposed by the Shimla administration under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which bars assembly of five or more persons and carrying of lethal arms and weapons.
Protesters broke barricades erected near the Dhalli tunnel and in Sanjauli area, with police personnel being forced to baton charge and use water cannons to disperse them.
Some protesters, including the Hindu Jagran Manch secretary Kamal Gautam, were detained by the police. Even then, the demonstrators refused to stop and continued with their protests.
DGP Atul Verma, who was present at the spot, told news agency PTI that at least six police personnel were injured in the scuffle and stone-pelting while four protesters were also injured. Shimla SP, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi, said that they also tried to pacify the situation through dialogue but there was no particular leader and the "mob was not ready to listen".
However, Kalpi Sharma -- one of the protesters -- claimed that at least 15 persons including women had been wounded.
One of the protests' leaders, Vijay Sharma, said that the police baton charged them, leading to the volatile atmosphere in the area. One other protester claimed that cops lathi-charged kids as well. "We are neither from the Congress nor from the BJP, we are Hindus and want these street vendors out," she said.
Meanwhile, several protesters also alleged that the state government first denied them permission to hold peaceful demonstrations and now, it was arresting them.
"We demand that the structure be sealed till the hearing is concluded, all outsiders coming to the state be registered and a vendor's policy formulated on a population basis with 95 per cent license to Hindus," Sharma said.
Many women, reciting Hanuman Chalisa, also joined the protest at Dhalli before breaking the barricading there.
Leader of Opposition, BJP leader, Jai Ram Thakur appealed to the protesters to not defy the restrictive orders and said, "The case of the unauthorised mosque is very sensitive and should not be dealt with routinely and the matter should be expedited as tension can spill over to other parts of the state also."
Anger Over Schools Not Being Shut
The outbreak of the clash also left several students in Sanjauli, Dhalli, and other nearby areas to be stranded in schools, fueling the residents' anger at the administration for not ordering the closure of schools despite having knowledge of the demonstrations.
The residents claimed that managements of several schools were waiting for directions from the district administration to send the children back home.
A Class 6 student of SPM Public School in Sanjauli, Janvi said that the students were very scared as they were stuck in the school amid the protests. "We were allowed to leave when our parents came to collect us," she added.
Govt Keeping a Close Watch: State Minister
Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh said the state government is seriously concerned over the escalating tensions, adding that it is keeping a close watch on all the developments.
"We are in touch with the central leadership and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and myself have talked to party president Mallikarjun Kharge and party-in-charge Rajiv Shukla and they are also concerned that there was no deterioration in law and order situation," he said.
Singh further asserted that the Hindu community has the right to protest peacefully, however, no one should take the law in their hands.
As far as the unauthorised construction in the mosque is concerned, he said, the case is pending in the Shimla Municipal Corporation Commissioner's court and action would be taken under the ambit of law once a verdict comes.
Speaking to reporters in Shimla, Singh said, "If the construction is unauthorised, the structure would be demolished according to law." He noted that the case has been pending since the past 10 years and there were mayors of CPI-M and BJP also in the past, hence, the issue should not be used for a political tussle.
"Everybody lives peacefully in Himachal Pradesh which is also known as 'dev bhoomi' and I appeal to the people not to take law in their hands," Singh said.
The Minister further noted that Himachal Pradesh was the "first state in the country to act against conversion during Congress rule when Virbhadra Singh was the chief minister and I am proud to be a Hindu but the government works under the purview of law".
He maintained that the government understands the sensitivity of the cause of Himachal's people and it stands with them. But, he said, minorities are also a part of the state and their safety must also be ensured.
"We cannot stop anybody from coming to the state to earn livelihood but we have to strengthen our internal security and verification of outsiders coming to the state would be done by the police as well as the municipal corporation," he added.
Earlier, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had also urged people to not give the issue a political colour. "Maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the government. People have the right to protest peacefully but there should be no damage to anyone from any community," he had said.
He had assured that as for the matter at hand, the law will take its course and requests for an early decision would be made.
