Honganuru clash: Peace meeting held after a month

In an effort to instil confidence among the villagers, who are still under fear and confusion after the Honganuru clash, the district administration held a peace meeting here on Monday.

It may be mentioned that violence erupted in the village after miscreants insulted Dr Ambedkar’s flex by garlanding it with footwear on April 28.

The peace meeting, that was held after a month of the incident, witnessed a large number of politicians, while the number of youths and men, who had fled the village to evade arrest, was less.

District in-charge Minister H S Mahadev Prasad, who attended the meeting, condemned the act of the miscreants. “It is the duty of the police personnel to take the suspects into custody for inquiry and it does not mean they are arrested.

There is no need for anxiety,” he stressed.

Based on the video recording, police have arrested the suspects, which includes a few belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Nayaka communities.

About 97 people have been injured in the violence, 26 shops have been gutted and 72 houses damaged. The government has released Rs 17.04 lakh compensation, he added.

The minister appealed to the leaders of all the communities to maintain peace and harmony in the village. The demands of the villagers will be brought to the notice of the Chief Minister and the Home Minister and suitable action will be taken, he said.

MP R Dhruvanarayan said he had not exerted any pressure on the police personnel. “The police have arrested those involved in the clash, based on the video evidence. Peace should be maintained. Recurrence of such incidents should be prevented,” he stressed.

MLA S Jayanna suggested a high-level probe. “Only the accused will be punished under law and there is no need for others to leave the village. The accused should be voluntarily handed over to the police to prevent the innocent from being taken into custody,” he advised.

However, Bahujan Samaj Party state president N Mahesh said, “The incident is a conspiracy by vested interests. Action should be taken against the real accused. The names of the innocent, included in the FIR, have made the villagers lose hope on the police department. A judicial probe should be initiated.”

DC B Ramu, ZP president M Ramachandra and SP Kuldeep Kumar R Jain were present.