Tensions escalated in Maddur, Karnataka, after stone-pelting incidents during Ganesh Visarjan. Police imposed a curfew, enforced prohibition orders, and arrested 21 people as authorities deployed additional security to maintain law and order.
Mandya: Tensions escalated in Maddur, Mandya district, Karnataka, following stone-pelting incidents during a Ganesh immersion procession on Sunday evening. The BJP, JD(S), and Hindu organisations organised a large protest march on Monday to condemn the incident. During the procession, stones were thrown twice, and weapons were brandished. Police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the crowd, resulting in injuries to six people, including women.
Hindu organisations have called for a bandh (shutdown) in Maddur on Tuesday, and prohibitory orders have been imposed as a precautionary measure. Additional police personnel have been deployed from various districts for security. A mass Ganesh immersion is scheduled for Wednesday, with a delegation of state BJP leaders expected to participate.
Arrests and Investigation
Twenty-one people have been arrested in connection with Sunday’s violence and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. It has emerged that individuals from Channapatna in Ramanagara and Kolar were also involved. District In-Charge Minister Chaluvarayaswamy suggested that the incident appears to have been a pre-planned conspiracy.
Stone-Pelting During Monday’s Procession
On Monday, BJP and Hindu organisation activists held a protest march from the Ugranarasimhaswamy Temple through the old town to the Tourist Bungalow Circle, condemning the Sunday incident. Vehicles were stopped on the national highway at the Tourist Bungalow Circle as protesters expressed their outrage.
When the procession reached the main mosque near Kemmannu Nala, participants set fire to camphor and tires, hoisted saffron flags, and voiced their anger. A group then pelted stones at the protesters while brandishing weapons, prompting Hindu activists to retaliate by throwing stones. Police again resorted to a lathi-charge.
Later, near Canara Bank, a youth tore down a Muslim flag flying near a slipper shop. As Hindu activists hoisted a saffron flag in its place, another group pelted stones, escalating tensions further. Police intervened again with a lathi-charge. Six people, including Hindu women, were injured and hospitalised.
Siege at Taluk Administrative Building
The protesters proceeded to the Tourist Bungalow Circle and installed a Ganesh idol. They later marched to the taluk office and attempted to enter the police station with the idol but were stopped by police. Eventually, protesters, accompanied by a DJ, laid siege to the taluk administrative building.
Former MP Pratap Simha and JD(S) Youth State President Nikhil Kumaraswamy arrived at the scene, expressed support for the protest, and later visited the hospital to check on the well-being of the injured.
21 Accused Arrested
Police have arrested 21 individuals connected to Sunday night’s stone-pelting incident and presented them before the court. The Second Additional Civil Judge, Gopalakrishna, remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days. Investigations revealed that participants from Channapatna in Ramanagara and Kolar were also involved in the violence.