The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal had put up banners, restricting non-Hindus from carrying out business activity near the Kadri Sri Manjunatha temple in Mangaluru city of Karnataka.
The banners were put up to specifically restrict non-Hindus from carrying out trade during a fair that is held near the temple premises between January 15 and January 21 this year.
The Hindu organisations raised concerns about the cooker blast, which was targeted at the Kadri Manjunatha temple, in November last year and barred those opposed to idolatry to conduct business near the Hindu place of worship.
As per reports, the banners stated that those who believe in Hindu rituals are only allowed to operate their business at the temple. The Religious Endowment Department of the Karnataka government, which controls the administration of the temple, objected to the banners.
Soon after on Thursday (January 19), the Mangaluru police removed the banners put up by Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, reportedly, to maintain peace and harmony in the area.
While speaking about the matter, a senior police official said, “We have taken down the banners to avoid any law-and-order issue, but since there is no police complaint, we have not lodged any FIR in the matter.”
Mangaluru Blast Case
On November 19, an auto-rickshaw exploded in Mangaluru, Karnataka’s coastal town. The accused terrorist Mohammed Shariq was carrying a pressure cooker, and police found that there was an improvised explosive device (IED) inside the cooker which exploded.
Shariq had hired the auto-rickshaw posing as a passenger. Gelatin powder, circuit boards, tiny bolts, batteries, mobile phones, wood power, aluminium multimeters, cables, mixing jars, pressure cookers, and other components required to build explosives were found by the FSL team from the room rented by Shariq.
One mobile phone, two fake Aadhaar cards, one fake pan card, and one FINO debit card were also recovered by the forensic experts.