Bajrang Dal man's killing sparks Shivamogga riots

Twenty people were injured in communal violence in Shivamogga on Monday, a day after the murder of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha (28) by a gang of five men, forcing the police to fire in the air to quell the violence.

Two photojournalists, a policeman and a woman were among those injured in the violence that broke out during the funeral procession where over 100 vehicles were also torched. A curfew was enforced and will remain in force till Wednesday morning. A holiday was declared for schools and colleges in Shivamogga city on February 22.

The police arrested two suspects from Shivamogga for the murder and have identified them as Khasif (30) and Syed Nadeem (20) and are trying to ascertain the motive behind the murder.

Also Read: Three held in connection with murder of right-wing activist in Shivamogga, says Home Minister Jnanendra

Following demands by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, the police permitted the funeral procession from the District McGann Teaching General Hospital where the postmortem was done, through Old Thirthahalli Road to Harsha’s house at Seegehatti, where the body was kept for public viewing for some time.

After Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa and MP B Y Raghavendra paid their respects to the deceased, the procession resumed and culminated at Rotary crematorium at Vidyanagar after passing through the main streets of the city like B H Road, Amir Ahmed Circle, KR Puram, Imaam Bada, Siddaiah Road, Azadnagar, Seegehatti and Gandhi Bazaar. Harsha’s father Nagaraj performed the last rites.

Despite police deployment, the situation went out of control as miscreants hurled stones when the procession reached Siddaiah Road. The crowd vandalised fruit stalls, torched vehicles, tyres, stoned many commercial establishments, houses and mosques. When stones were hurled at the procession, the angry crowd retaliated, leading to chaos. Stone throwing was reported again as the procession reached the mosque at Gandhi Bazaar. The crowds chanted ‘Jai Sri Ram’ throughout the procession. Miscreants also damaged cameras of photojournalists.

Two houses vandalised

A mob of around 500 entered two houses at Rajiv Gandhi Layout near the Rotary crematorium and pulled out household goods and vandalised houses. The police, who were struggling to control the situation, initially, fired tear gas to disperse the mob. When the situation worsened, they fired in the air and resorted to caning. The fire force rushed to the spot and doused the burning vehicles. Traffic was restricted on the procession route.

Most parts of the city remained tense and all shops remained shut. Schools and colleges were closed on Monday in Shivamogga and Bhadravathi.

Superintendent of police B M Laxmi Prasad and ADGP S Murugan supervised security arrangements during the procession.

According to the police, Harsha, a resident of Seegehatti, was an active member of Bajrang Dal and was working as an assistant to an engineer in the city. He left home saying he was going out for dinner. A five-member gang in a car attacked him with lethal weapons near Kamath petrol bunk on Bharathi Colony Road on Sunday night and fled.

Harsha faces four cases at Doddapete police station and was accused of spreading communal hatred through social media. He was also accused of pasting the image of a pig on a mosque a few years ago.

The police suspect this could be the reason for the attack. His parents revealed that he was receiving threat calls from some organisations.

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