A police officer has been placed on leave due to the instance involving stone pelting during Ganpati visarjan (immersion) on 11th September in the Nagamangala area of Mandya district in Karnataka. Ten First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed on 13th September. Fifty-six persons have been apprehended while authorities are searching for ninety others. A holiday has also been declared in educational institutions.
Meanwhile, an official was also suspended for negligence in duty during the riots. Police Inspector Ashok Kumar didn’t inform his senior officers about a similar incident during Ganesh Chaturthi in 2023 and failed to arrange adequate security arrangements this year as well. Mandya Superintendent of Police (SP) Mallikarjun Baladandi stated that the place near the mosque in Badrikoppalu village of Mandya is a sensitive area. More security forces could have been deployed there.
Police sources revealed that 150 people have been booked for violence and rioting. FIR has been registered under sections 16, 109, 115, 118, 121, 132, 189 and 190 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The authorities are collecting CCTV footage of the area to identify the perpetrators and gather information about them. Cops also arrested four individuals on 12th September. Earlier, 52 accused were produced in the court on the 12th of September evening. Mandya District Court sent them to judicial custody for 14 days.
On 12th September, a group of forensic specialists visited the spot to collect evidence. Locals mentioned that the situation in the area is still tense. The police department has imposed a curfew till 14th September and schools and colleges have also been closed. The police conducted a flag march in Nagamangala town and additional security forces have been deported there.
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also formed a five-member committee regarding the issue. “State President Vijayendra Yediyurappa has formed a fact-finding team of leaders to determine the truth of the occurrence that transpired during the Ganpati visarjan procession in Nagamangala and has directed to submit a comprehensive report,” the party wrote on social media.
ನಾಗಮಂಗಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಗಣೇಶ ವಿಸರ್ಜನೆಯ ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ದುರ್ಘಟನೆಯ ಕುರಿತು ಸತ್ಯಾಸತ್ಯತೆ ತಿಳಿಯಲು ರಾಜ್ಯಾಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ @BYVijayendra ಅವರು ಈ ಕೆಳಗಿನ ಪ್ರಮುಖರ ಸತ್ಯಶೋಧನಾ ತಂಡವನ್ನು ರಚಿಸಿ, ಸಮಗ್ರ ವರದಿಯನ್ನು ನೀಡಲು ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.#HinduVirodhiCongress #CongressFailsKarnataka #karnataka #Mandya… pic.twitter.com/TwY5vvNBFK
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) September 13, 2024
The youths of Badrikoppalu village were taking out a Ganpati visarjan procession in the town. People from the Muslim community on Mysore Road got into a heated confrontation with the participants as soon as the procession started to cross the road close to a mosque. When the Muslim extremists noticed the disagreement, they began throwing stones at the procession and weapons were also brandished. Many people including some policemen were also injured in the attack. The culprits vandalized shops and set the goods on fire. About 25 shops were reportedly looted, damaged and set ablaze. Multiple vehicles were also burned and destroyed.
Notably, such occurrences during Ganpati visarjan happened in other parts of the nation as well. Muslims including children in Surat and Kutch pelted stones at Ganesha pandals and damaged the idol. An Islamic flag was raised in a temple. Moreover, an Islamic mob attacked a pandal in Lucknow amid “Allah-hu-Akbar” slogans and issued death threats. Likewise, Muslims in Vadodara displayed flags in Arabic outside their homes in opposition to the Ganesha pandals. There was also unrest and stone pelting over installing similar flags on Ganesha Chaturthi in Bharuch as well.
