A Ganapati procession turned violent in Karnataka's Hubballi as a 21-year-old youth was stabbed on Friday. 21-year-old Basavaraj Shivur was rushed to the KIMS Hospital in Hubballi where he succumbed to his injuries late on Friday night. 

Basavaraj, a resident of Hanagal in Haveri district, was a student of KLE Nursing Institute in Hubballi. He had gone to take part in the Ganapati idol immersion procession, where he was stabbed. 

According to Deccan Herald, Basavaraj and three of his classmates were dancing near the Sangolli Rayanna Circle when a stranger stabbed him.  

Basavaraj’s classmate Sunil Hadapad filed a complaint with the Old Hubballi Police Station and said that Basavaraj and the stranger had fought briefly before he was stabbed. 

Speaking to TNM, Hubballi Police say that there were five cases of violence in the city during Ganapati idol immersion processions. Four people were allegedly assaulted during a fight that broke out at Chennamma Circle during a procession. All the cases of violence were stabbing incidents while one person has succumbed to injuries.  

At Durgadabail near Harsh Complex, thousands of people had gathered for the immersion procession. Police say that the people were pushing and shoving each other when a huge fight broke out. "A man named Anil who lives in Bankapur Chowk was stabbed on his arm. Two others were stabbed on their heads, stomach and hands. They are currently undergoing treatment at KIMS," the police added. 

Hubballi DCP for Law and Order Nagesh, says that a special team has been formed to nab the suspects. "We tried to gather the CCTV footage of the area but due to power cut at the time, the cameras were not working. We are trying to figure out who started the mayhem at Harsh Complex. We suspect that it was one gang which started the violence," DCP Nagesh added.