Communal tensions reported from Karnataka's Shivamogga

Visuals of an event with posters proclaiming Aurangazeb as an emperor of “Akhand Bharat” including regions of Pakistan and Bangladesh as a Muslim empire surfaced from Shivamogga on the occasion of Eid- Milad. 

Member of Legislative Assembly from Bijapur, Basanagouda R Patil Yatnal shared images of a sword procession from Shivamogga on the same day. “This is a collective failure of the district administration and Police. Such acts are happening under government patronage,” he posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). 

A procession witnessed stone pelting in the Shantinagar and Ragi Gudda regions of the city. There was some retaliation by those participating in the procession in a residential locality nearby. This led to a certain amount of damage to households. 

A cut-out of Tipu Sultan to whose feet a saffron clad man’s image was attached surfaced earlier in the day. The police intervened and changed the colour of the paint from saffron to white. “Tipu sher” was later inscribed on the white paint. This appears to have been the root cause of the violence. 

The police van dispatched to prevent violence was also attacked. Some people tried to cross the barricades set up by the police, prompting a lathi charge from the police’s end. 

5 have been injured as a result of this violence. The police ensured that first aid was given to the injured. Section 144 was imposed in Shivamogga to prevent further incidents of violence. 30 people have so far been detained in relation to the violence.