Representative photo
By Shankar Raj*
Bengaluru: Violence and tension gripped Shivamogga town and parts of Karnataka today Monday following the murder of a member of the Bajrang Dal late Sunday night. Vehicles were set on fire and there were stone-pelting in some pockets of Shivamogga, the home district of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa and senior BJP minister KS Eshwarappa.
By evening, the police arrested three people for the murder of Harsha, 26, who worked as a tailor. “Three overall arrests have been made. I can’t reveal more where they were picked up,” State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said.
“I don’t have an exact number of how many have been taken under custody. Prime motive will come after the investigation,” he added.
As violence spread, the police rushed in additional forces and the district administration imposed curbs on public gatherings and shut down schools and colleges. Despite the curbs, a large crowd of Bajrang Dal supporters accompanied the youth’s body as it was taken home.
There were strong rumours that the murder was linked to the hijab ban controversy, but the Home Minister said the probe so far has not revealed any such link.
“Hijab issue has nothing to do with this incident. It has happened for different reasons. Shivamogga is a sensitive city,” he told the media.
However, Eshwarappa fanned the flames of violence by launching an attack on state Congress chief DK Shivakumar accusing him of instigating the killing.
“Muslim goons murdered him. Recently, DK Shivakumar claimed that the national flag was replaced with the saffron flag, and around 50 lakh saffron shawls were ordered from a factory in Surat for the anti-hijab protest. Goondaism increased after he made these statements,” he said.
Responding to the minister’s remarks, DKS said Eshwarappa was a “mad man”. Leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah said there is no connection between Eshwarappa’s tongue and his mind. “The BJP leadership should sack him,” he said.
A police officer told a TV channel that the attack seems to have been carried out by four people and was a result of an old rivalry.
However, Bajrang Dal state convenor Raghu Sakleshpur 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.”
*Shankar Raj is former Editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs.
