Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 21: Tension prevailed in Shivamogga and several other parts of Karnataka as a group of people protesting against the alleged murder of a Bajrang Dal activist came out on the streets and indulged in stone throwing and setting fire to some vehicles and other property on Monday.
The Shivamogga district administration clamped prohibitory orders in Shivamogga and Bhadravati cities for two days from Monday in the wake of violent incidents following the alleged murder of Hindutva activist Harsha, 26, a resident of Seegehatti in Shivamogga on Sunday night.
Harsha was allegedly attacked by a group of unknown persons at Bharati Colony around 10 p.m. He was taken to Mc Gann Hospital where he succumbed to injuries. He was associated with Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), one of the organisations comprising the ‘Sangh Parivar’ of which the ruling BJP is a part.
As news of the murder spread, incidents of stone-pelting and vehicles being set on fire were reported in some parts of Shivamogga. Police have been deployed in sensitive areas. Senior police officers are monitoring the situation.
Even as the Karnataka home minister ruled out the on-going Hijab row in the state as the possible cause of the murder and promised a “thorough inquiry” into the murder, the state rural development and panchayat raj minister KS Eshwarappa directly blamed the “Muslim goondas” behind the murder giving rise to the communal tension in the state already fighting hard to defuse the tension caused by the “hijab versus saffron scarf” row.
The Karnataka police is also learnt to be looking at Harsha’s alleged involvement in some crime incidents in the past as a possible motive behind his murder by a group members from the rival gang. Crime records for the Shivamogga city reveal that Harsha was involved in at least five cases of assault and attempt to murder including several communal incidents of attacks on rival anti-social elements from the Muslim community.
On Monday, the Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said, “Harsha was a Hindu activist and volunteer of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).” He appealed to the people of Shivamogga to maintain calm and peace, assuring them that the police would arrest the culprits and ensure they are punished.
Later in the day, the body of Harsha was handed over to his family members after a post-mortem at Mc Gann Hospital. Hundreds of youths followed the vehicle carrying his mortal remains, on bikes. They were carrying saffron flags and raisings slogans praising Harsha. There were instances of stone-pelting along the route taken by the vehicle carrying Harsha’s mortal remains, resulting in damage to a couple of vehicles. Stones were thrown at some shops as well.
Shivamogga Deputy Commissioner Selvamani R. declared a holiday for schools and colleges in the city on Monday in view of the prevailing tension. In Bhadravati, the tahsildar declared a holiday for schools (up to Class 10) in Bhadravati city limits. However, classes in rural areas would continue. The preparatory examinations of SSLC, scheduled to be held in various centres in both cities, have been postponed. “The situation is tense. The administration is trying to prevent it from getting worse. A holiday has been declared for schools and colleges,” Selvamani said.
Blaming the “Muslim goondas” for the murder, Eshwarappa alleged that recent statements of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar on the saffron flag issue had ‘instigated’ the perpetrators of the crime. Speaking to media persons in Bengaluru, the Minister said Shivakumar ‘misled’ people by spreading ‘false information’ that the national tricolour was lowered to hoist a saffron flag in a college campus. Later, he claimed to have information on the trucks in which saffron shawls were brought from Surat, Gujarat. The Minister said the BJP and the Hindu organisations would stand by the family of the victim.
Reacting to the allegations, Shivakumar said the State Government should book a case against Eshwarappa and arrest him so that normalcy could be restored. Shivakumar said, “He has to make comments against me to survive in the party.”
Stating that statements on the flag issue had nothing to do with the murder, Shivakumar said, “We do not want to politicise the issue. We have been protesting against Eshwarappa and we have demanded that he be sacked from the cabinet. According to information available so far, the murder in Shivamogga may have taken place over some personal issue. Let the police probe the case and arrest those involved in the murder.”
Speaking to media persons in Shivamogga, the Home Minister said the police had got clues about the perpetrators. “As of now, there is no information about the involvement of any organisation in the murder. A group of four-five people are said to have been involved. The police are trying to track them down. The Home Minister said that there was an attempt to attack him earlier too. He was named in a couple of cases, he added.
“I visited the mortuary and spoke to Harsha’s two sisters and his parents. It is an unfortunate incident. It should not have happened. Following the murder, there were incidents of stone-pelting and bikes being set on fire. I appeal to people not to indulge in violence. We are also outraged by the murder. However, damaging public property is not the solution. We are working towards arresting the culprits and punishing them,” the Home Minister said.
He said the government would take a decision on offering compensation for the family of the victim. He would discuss the issue with Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and announce the compensation. The Home Minister said Shivamogga city was calm. KSRP platoons and the Rapid Action Force had been deployed in the city. Senior police officers, including those who worked in Shivamogga earlier, had been called to take steps necessary to keep the situation under control, he added.
Giving the incident its communal colour, Eshwarappa said, “A good worker of our party has been killed in Shivamogga. It has been done by Muslim goondas. The Muslim goondas were never so emboldened in Shivamogga and there should be action against such persons,” Eshwarappa said. The Shivamogga region is represented in the Karnataka legislature by Eshwarappa, Araga Jnanendra and former chief minister B S Yediyurappa. The city of Shivamogga is prone to communal violence on account of the presence of communal gangs that are allied with pro-Hindu and pro-Muslim political outfits.
In one of the most recent cases that was lodged against Harsha, he was accused by the police of being part of a mob that attacked Muslim traders in Shivamogga city on December 3, 2020 following a communal skirmish.
Cases of assault have been pending against Harsha since 2017 in the Doddapet police station, according to police records.
“We know who is behind the murder and they will be arrested. There are four to five people involved in the incident. We will send out a clear message that such incidents will be dealt with in a strong manner. There is some information that there are a couple of cases against the victim as well,” Jnanendra said on Monday.
The Additional Director General of Police S Murugan, who has been sent by the police top brass to Shivamogga to bring tensions down in the city, told the media on Monday that two persons linked to the murder of the Bajrang Dal worker has been arrested. “Four police teams have been constituted by the SP to investigate the case. We are in the process of arresting the main accused,” the ADGP said.
Tension prevailed in Shivamogga city during the funeral procession for the Bajrang Dal worker with incidents of stone throwing and arson being reported in some areas with sizeable number of Muslim residents. “There have been a few incidents in some parts of the city. We are enforcing strong measures to maintain law and order,” the police official said.
A senior police officer said the attack on Harsha, who worked as a tailor, seems to have been carried out by four people. Denying reports linking the murder to the hijab row, the officer said Harsha knew the assailants and this seems to be the result of an old rivalry.
State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra categorically said the probe so far has not revealed any link between the murder and the hijab controversy. “Hijab issue has nothing to do with this incident. It has happened for different reasons. Shivamogga is a sensitive city,” he told the media. The chief minister Bommai said police have found clues during their investigation and were working on them.
But the Bajrang Dal state convenor Raghu Sakleshpur has said they were “not happy” with the police action in the case. “He was an active member. We will soon decide the next course of action,” he said.
