Even as Karnataka is recovering from the riots unleashed by Muslim mobs in Bengaluru, another attempt to flare up communal tension has been reported from Shringeri in Karnataka’s Chikamangaluru district. The town is home to the Daksinamnaya Sharada Peetham, one of the four centres of Advaita philosophy established by Adi Shankaracharya and is considered one of the most sacred places for Hindu faith.
On Wednesday, in an attempt to disturb communal harmony in the area, some miscreants had put up an Islamic flag with text written in Arabic on the statue of Adi Shankaracharya in the holy city of Sringeri.
According to the reports, the residents and the devotees of the city came to know about the incident on Thursday. The flag was immediately removed while the devotees of Sharada Peetha gathered at the spot and protested against the attempt to flare passions in the holy city.
2 Muslim youth arrested according to media reports
Following the incident, devotees of Shankaracharya led by former MLA DN Jeevaraj protested and demanded the immediate arrests of the culprits. Jeevaraj alleged that it is an attempt by the SDPI workers to disturb communal harmony in the city, considered one of the most sacred places of Hindus, by deliberately putting the flag on top of the statue. If the police do not act immediately, Hindu groups will intensify their protests, said BJP leader.
Meanwhile, the police had reportedly registered a case against in the issue. Two youth Rafiq and Sahil were detained on a complaint lodged by locals. Reportedly, Rafiq is also a town panchayat member.
Minister for Kannada and Culture and Tourism CT Ravi, who is also Minister in charge of the district, reacted on the incident, said he got to know that an SDPI flag was hoisted on the statue of Adi Shankaracharya and had directed the Superintendent of Police to investigate the issue.
ಶೃಂಗೇರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಶ್ರೀ ಶಂಕರಾಚಾರ್ಯರ ಪ್ರತಿಮೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಎಸ್ಡಿಪಿಐ ಧ್ವಜ ಹಾರಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂಬ ವಿಷಯ ತಿಳಿದು ಬಂದಿದ್ದು ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ತನಿಖೆ ನಡೆಸಿ ತಪ್ಪಿತಸ್ಥರ ಮೇಲೆ ಕ್ರಮ ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ಸೂಚಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಕಾನೂನು ಸುವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ ಕಾಪಾಡಲು ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಸಹಕರಿಸಿ🙏
— C T Ravi 🇮🇳 ಸಿ ಟಿ ರವಿ (@CTRavi_BJP) August 13, 2020
Udupi-Chikkamagaluru BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje also took to Twitter to condemn the incident and demanded action against the culprits.
Hindu man arrested, was allegedly drunk and draped flag by mistake
Now, however, a drunk man called Milind has reportedly been arrested for draping Islamic flag on the Shankaracharya statue. Reportedly, the man was drunk and had draped the Islamic flag by mistake, said the cops.
