The incident happened during a bike rally led by two ministers; the police registered two cases and arrested 20 people.
Miscreants pelting stones at the Karanji Mosque. (Sourced)
The police have deployed additional reserve personnel at Rattihalli village in Karnataka’s Haveri district after a group of Bajrang Dal activists pelted stones at a mosque and houses of people belonging to Muslims on Tuesday, 14 March, afternoon.
Tension gripped the area following the incident, in which four people suffered minor injuries.
The police registered two cases for rioting, assaulting, and damaging public property against Bajrang Dal activists, who were part of a bike rally led by BJP ministers BC Patil and Byrathi Basavaraj.
Patil is the Minister for Agriculture in the Basavaraj Bommai-led Cabinet, while Basavaraj holds the Urban Development portfolio.
“A group of youngsters pelted stones at the Karanji Masjid and around eight to 10 houses when the rally, led by the ministers, passed the junction,” a senior police officer said, adding, tiles, walls, and window panes of the houses were damaged.
Stone pelted a mosque, few homes & vehicles in Haveri's Rattihalli. Cops have confirmed that a group of about 100 people took a detour from the rally they were part of & indulged in the stone pelting, about 15 arrested and investigation is on.
Dr Shivakumar, SP Haveri 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/2FUdwctbkV— Deepak Bopanna (@dpkBopanna) March 14, 2023
Haveri police superintendent Dr Shivakumar Gunare said in a video statement that about 100 people participating in the rally took a detour and targeted the mosque and residences.
The Karanji Mosque, which was pelted with stones. (Sourced)
“The Rattihalli police have registered two FIRs against the activists who indulged in violence during the procession and arrested 20 for rioting, assaulting, and damaging public properties,” Gunare told South First.
The rally was carrying a statue of Sangolli Rayanna, a military leader who fought the East India Company in the 19th century.
The police had a tough time restoring law and order since the rally was huge.
Police sources said the Ranebennur sub-division is a communally sensitive area for the past 30 years.
The police said a group of Muslim youths, armed with sticks and stones, prohibited Bajrang Dal activities from entering the by-lanes in their neighbourhood on 9 March. They asked the rallyists to take another route.
The pro-Hindu activists were taking out a procession for the Prathistapane (installation) of Rayanna’s statue.
Tuesday’s vandalism is considered to be a fallout of the earlier incident.
Following the incident, parents rushed to the schools and took their wards home fearing the violence spreading to other areas.
However, the police deployed additional forces and prevented the situation from spiralling out of control, a senior officer told South First.
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