Amid demands from a section of right-wing organisations for stringent action against those involved in the Hubballi violence, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday, April 19, said those involved in the incident will be tried as per the existing laws. CM Bommai also said that the government was mulling whether the damage caused to public and private properties may be recovered from the rioters.
"When riots took place in Uttar Pradesh, certain action was taken according to the situation prevailing over there. We are reviewing the situation in Karnataka. We will go by our law," CM Bommai told reporters in Shivamogga. He was replying to a query seeking clarification on the demand for a “bulldozer-like punishment” by right-wing outfits. During the Hanuman Jayanthi communal violence across northern India, there were reports of police parking bulldozers outside the homes of alleged rioters (who were Muslims), asking them to surrender or risk getting their houses razed to the ground, like in Roorkee.
When asked whether stringent action will be taken against those who were involved in the arson and violence in Hubballi, CM Bommai said many people were arrested within 24 hours of the incident and the rioters have been booked under stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code. He said that “strong measures” taken during the violence at DJ Halli and KG Halli police station limits in Bengaluru, will be repeated in this case.
Prohibitory orders have been clamped in Hubballi after protests demanding strict action against a teen over a social media post, turned violent. The post, made by a youth named Abhishek Hiremath, purportedly showed a saffron flag on top of a mosque at Mecca. A section of the Muslim community there had showed up outside the Old Town police station, demanding strict action against Hiremath, when the crowd swelled and the protest escalated to stone-pelting.
According to reports, several police vehicles, a hospital and a temple were damaged during the violence. Police resorted to lathi charge and deployed tear gas to control the situation. A day later, police said that 89 people who were involved in the violence have been arrested.
Meanwhile, Hiremath has been arrested by the Hubballi police over the contentious social media post.
With PTI inputs