Karnataka Police on Tuesday arrested four people for allegedly stabbing a man in Shivamogga over a banner featuring the image of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The communal tension heightened in the town on Monday after a group of people removed a poster of Savarkar and put up one of Tipu Sultan.
District police chief BM Laxmi Prasad told the media heavy force has been deployed on the ground to avert any further flare-ups. The police have also imposed curbs under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Schools in the city will stay shut for the next two days.
“We have arrested four people. We will interrogate them to find out any background and ideological support to them, or their ideological leanings,” additional director general of police (law and order) Alok Kumar said. “We are issuing a warning to anti-social elements that if they indulge in crimes like stabbing, we will take strict action according to the law. We are seeing such incidents being repeated,” he added.
A case of attempt to murder has been registered under Section 307 of IPC against Nadeem, Tanveer, Mohammed Charbi and Abdul Rehman. Charbi suffered bullet injury in the leg as he tried to attack the policemen. Another accused Nadeem was allegedly involved in a 2016 riot case as well.
The 20-year-old, Prem Singh, who was stabbed, is recuperating in the hospital and is out of danger. The injured is originally from Rajasthan and doesn’t belong to any groups which were involved in the clashes.
Karnataka Home Minister Araga Gyanendra visited him at the hospital and also met his family members. The minister blamed “fanatic forces” for the incident. The police officials have installed the Tricolour at the place where both groups wanted to install the portraits of Savarkar and Tipu.
Reacting to the incident, the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, “Such incidents shouldn’t take place. I have instructed the police to take strict action against those who commit such a crime.”