The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Violence hits J.C. Nagar over rumours

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Saturday, Jul 12, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Violence hits J.C. Nagar over rumours

Staff Reporter

Police cane, teargas protester; traffic thrown out of gear for several hours in central areas of the city

— PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

MOB FURY: People running for cover as police use teargas at J.C. Nagar in Bangalore on Friday.

Bangalore: The police fired teargas shells and caned a mob that blocked roads and hurled stones to protest against the alleged desecration of a shrine at Munireddypalya in J.C. Nagar on Friday, the day Shankar M. Bidari reported for work as the city’s new Police Commissioner.

Around 10 people, including policemen and journalists, were injured in stone throwing.

The missiles struck at the J.C. Nagar police station, a restaurant, and other buildings in the vicinity. The mob attacked reporters and photographers covering the violence.

Trouble erupted in the morning after rumours spread that a carcass was found on the shrine’s premises. Subsequently, people gathered near the J.C. Nagar police station. Nandidurg Road and Jayamahal Road were blocked by placing tyres and setting them on fire. More people poured in from other parts of the city even as their representatives were having discussions with Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Syed Ulfath Hussain and other police officers.

As the police were trying to pacify the protesters, a few of them targeted media photographers and cameramen.

One group attacked The Hindu’s photographer K. Murali Kumar and tried to snatch his camera. The Times of India’s photographer Syed Asif was also beaten up when he came to Mr. Kumar’s rescue.

The mob then turned its ire on the police station from where the other journalists were filming the violence.

Hours went by, and around 4 p.m., the mob tried to block a car driven by a woman as she went past the J.C. Nagar police station.

The policemen who rushed to her rescue were attacked and the police constable Siddaraju was hit on his left eye. The other policemen, including Mr. Hussain, were injured and some of them were admitted to a hospital.

It was then that the police used their canes and fired three rounds of teargas shells to chase away the mob. Among those caught in the melee were shoppers and those frantically trying to retrieve their motorcycles parked in the area.

Mr. Bidari and Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) M.R. Pujar rushed to the spot.

Mr. Bidari met the protesters who told him that those causing trouble were not from the area. Senior police officials fanned out through the lanes of Munireddypalya and restored peace.

Fire engines doused the burning tyres and traffic was allowed to move on Jayamahal Road. Traffic in the central part of the city was thrown out of gear following closure of both Jayamahal and Nandidurga roads.

The Hindu was flooded with calls from anxious citizens to ascertain the extent of violence, particularly those travelling to and from the airport. They had to be reassured that the violence was only localised and contained within hours.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State Minority Morcha condemned the incidents and blamed them on anti-social elements and its political opponents.

Morcha president and MLA Derrick M.B. Fullinfaw told The Hindu that the Government was committed to protecting the interests of minorities and they should have no fear about their security.

Mr. Fullinfaw is likely to visit the trouble-hit area on Saturday.

Ban orders

Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari has imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of Cr. P.C. on J.C. Nagar, Hebbal and R.T. Nagar police limits till Sunday midnight.

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