Ram Mandir donation seekers ‘assaulted for blocking traffic’ in Bismillah Nagar

Volunteers seeking donations for the construction of Ram Mandir were allegedly attacked by residents of Bismillah Nagar in South Bengaluru on Friday following an argument over blocking traffic.

The jurisdictional Suddaguntepalya police registered an FIR after the volunteers staged a protest and filed a complaint.

According to police, it all began when the volunteers drove an SUV — painted in saffron and decorated with posters of Hindu deity Ram — into Bismillah around noon. Their apparent aim was to collect donations for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya as part of a campaign that started on January 15 and will go on until February 5.

As the volunteers went from door to door seeking donations, a group of local residents got into an argument with them. The residents demanded to know who had asked the volunteers to collect the donations and why they had come to Bismillah Nagar. Things soon went out of hand.

Volunteers claim the residents attacked them, and police had to rush to the spot to control the situation. The volunteers later protested in front of the Suddaguntepalya police station, demanding security for themselves and action against the assaulters.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Joshi Srinath Mahadev and other senior officers rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Joshi said it was a spontaneous quarrel. One of the residents driving a car got angry as the volunteers had blocked the road, he said.

“We have registered a case after a volunteer filed a complaint that he was attacked over the same issue,” Joshi said.

According to the complaint, three residents threw stones at the SUV’s windscreen and assaulted the volunteers.

Police declined to name the suspects citing communal sensitivities.