Communal tensions prevailed in Mulbagal town of Kolar district in Karnataka after a Sri Ram Shobha Yatra was attacked using stones. The incident happened on Friday night when the Shobha Yatra was being taken out ahead of Ram Navmi on Sunday.
As per reports, stones were pelted at the Sri Ram idol which was carried out in the procession. Cars and motorcycles that were part of the yatra were also attacked by the miscreants and a motorcycle was set ablaze by the stone-pelting mob. Kolar MP S Muniswamy was also reportedly a part of the procession.
The Shobha Yatra was planned as part of the four-day program at Avani Kesthra in Mulbagal from April 7 to 11. On Friday, the procession was passing through the main streets of the town when the violence broke out. As the procession headed towards Jahangir mohalla, a mob started throwing stones at the procession leading to chaos in the area. A power cut in the area added to the confusion and police had to resort to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control. Police have also arrested 6 accused for their role in the violence.
After the violence, to maintain law and order, two platoons of the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), and six platoons of the District Armed Reserve (DAR) have been deputed in Mulbagal town to maintain law and order. Police is further investigating the case to identify others involved in this case of communal violence.
Disturbing trend of attacking Hindu processions
This stone-pelting incident in Karnataka came at the heels of the riots in Karauli, Rajasthan when a bike rally celebrating Hindu New year was attacked leading to large-scale violence. The safety of Hindu processions across the country has come under the scanner due to the repeated attacks on these processions.
