The Hindu : Front Page : Violence-affected Bangalore returns to normality

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Tuesday, Jan 23, 2007
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Violence-affected Bangalore returns to normality

Staff Reporter

Shops open at dawn; solitary stone-throwing incident reported

AMITY: Even as the violence-affected areas in Bangalore Cantonment were returning to normal, these two women walk hand-in-hand to procure their daily needs on Seppings Road on Monday, symbolizing communal harmony. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE: Life in the riot-hit eastern part of Bangalore city returned to normal on Monday. Except for a solitary stone-throwing incident, no violence was reported from any area.

The affected areas are close to prominent commercial locations in Central Bangalore and have witnessed communal violence in the past but have enjoyed relative peace in the last two decades.

After the curfew on Sunday night, the police at dawn allowed the shops selling essential commodities to open in the violence-affected areas, including Commercial Street, Kamaraj Road, Seppings Road and Thimmaiah Road, for three hours. At 9 a.m., the police asked shops to shut citing prohibitory orders. "Get inside. Do not sit outside your house," a loudspeaker announced.

"Despite curfew relaxation not many shops opened in the morning," said Ramamurthy, a retired teacher living on Seppings Road. "There was not much time for us to purchase milk and other essentials," he added.

The situation in Seppings Road, which saw the worst of the violence over the last three days, was tense in the morning. The street was deserted barring the contingent of policemen. Barricades were put up at 100-metre intervals to check the movement of people and vehicles. At a few places, police were seen wielding lathis at people travelling in autorickshaws and two-wheelers.

By noon, the police allowed unhindered movement in the area. A Rapid Action Force company consisting of 120 personnel arrived to secure the peace. In the afternoon, a flag march was held. There were isolated cases of stone throwing on the RAF van.

The identity of the 11-year-old boy who died in the police firing on Sunday is yet to be ascertained, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) P. Muniswamy. Nobody has come to claim the body. Home Minister M.P. Prakash said the body would be kept in the mortuary of Victoria Hospital till he is identified.

The city police have arrested 65 persons and recovered 15 litres of acid stocked by the rioters. The police have recovered 60 weapons such as knives and machetes, said Additional Commissioner of Police (CAR) N.S. Megharik. He said 21 platoons of Karnataka State Reserve Police have been deployed in the troubled areas. Security has been tightened in other communally-sensitive areas of the city. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has estimated the losses that it incurred on Sunday evening at Rs. 30 lakh. According to BMTC General Manager Hemraj, 14 buses were stoned and one bus was set on fire.

Mr. Prakash, legislators Zamir Ahmed, Mirajuddin Patel and Abdul Azim, and former Railway Minister Jaffer Sharief, visited the victims of alleged police action and the injured police constable Thimmaiah, who have been admitted in Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital.

Mr. Prakash was accosted by people who charged the police with high handedness. They accused the police of taking a few residents into custody, beating them in the police station and ransacking their houses on Sunday evening. "The problem is more between us and the police. The police did not have any reason to open fire," one of them complained.

The Minister said the Government would take action against the culprits, including politicians, if they have used the violence for staging a political comeback. He said an inquiry would be ordered into the charges made by the residents.

Mr. Prakash said a law would be framed to ban provocative banners and buntings. He also announced cash compensation for the victims of the police firing and also those injured during the violence.

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