The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : J.J. Nagar continues to be volatile

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 30, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

J.J. Nagar continues to be volatile

Many criminals from both the communities who live in the area have been adding fuel to the fire during communal violence, writes K.V. Subramanya

THE COMMUNAL clash that took place at J.J. Nagar on Sunday night has shown that the area continues to be an eyesore of Bangalore.

After a boy belonging to a particular community who was answering nature's call near a place of worship was assaulted by people of another community, tension mounted in the area. People belonging to the two communities attacked one another with stones and bottles. Three persons were injured and a house was damaged in the incident.

For many years J.J. Nagar has been a hot-bed of communal strife and the latest incident only shows that nothing has changed in the area which is home for several labourers, autorickshaw and maxi-cab drivers, adulterated petrol traders and also criminals.

Apart from the communal animosity, large-scale unemployment, poverty and local politics are contributing to frequent violence in J.J. Nagar, Padarayanapura, Haleguddadahalli and Goripalya which have almost an equal mix of Hindus and Muslims, the police say.

The Hindus and Muslims in these areas were living in peace and their houses were located in the same lanes till the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992.

Following the communal violence that erupted in these areas after the demolition of the mosque, a feeling of mistrust and animosity developed between the members of the two communities and they started staying in separate streets.

The demarcation now is so complete that not in a single lane is a Hindu house located next to that of a Muslim, says a police official who was in charge of the J.J. Nagar police station for many years

The hatred the two communities developed towards each other was such that during the Urdu news bulletin riots in 1993 at least 15 people were stabbed to death and more than 800 houses set on fire in J.J. Nagar police station limits.

The police recollect with horror the brutal attack on a police constable belonging to a particular community by three anti-social elements during the riots. Both the hands of the constable were chopped off at a graveyard in Haleguddadahalli.

Many criminals from both the communities who live here have been adding fuel to the fire during communal violence. "Their intention in attacking others is only to rob them of their valuables," says the official.

Following the riots over the Urdu news bulletin, the then Police Commissioner, P. Kodandaramaiah, had posted B.B. Ashok Kumar as the Inspector of the J.J. Nagar station.

Mr. Kumar, who was there for four years, had initiated police and social measures to check the criminal activities by "gaining" the confidence of the Hindus and Muslims.

Inspector M.K. Uthappa, who succeeded Mr. Kumar, continued those programmes and was successful in checking communal violence to a great extent. Mr. Uthappa, who was transferred from J.J. Nagar, was brought back there in March 2002 following a communal clash. Senior officials say that the violence on Sunday night was contained mainly because of the swift action taken by Mr. Uthappa and his team.

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J.J. Nagar continues to be volatile