A tense situation prevailed in Karnataka’s Belagavi after a group of miscreants hoisted a saffron flag on top of a mosque in Ghataprabha village on Wednesday, May 11. According to police, the miscreants climbed to the mosque tower and hoisted the flag in the wee hours. The incident came to light in the morning, before the first call to prayer.
The incident took place in the Sattigeri Maddi mosque in Mudalagi taluk of the district. The police rushed to the spot and controlled the situation. As soon as it came to light, a meeting was held with leaders of Muslim and Hindu groups in the village, police said. While the flag was immediately taken down, the persons responsible for the act have not yet been apprehended. Further, security has been beefed up in the taluk to avoid any untoward incidents.
The Hindustan Times reported a case of defiling a place of worship was registered against unknown accused after the incident. Reports stated that both Hindu and Muslim leaders resolved the matter amicably and took down the flag. Both also filed complaints with the police to apprehend the person responsible for the same.
This comes amid the loudspeaker row in Karnataka, wherein Hindu groups have been opposing allowing mosques to play the ‘azaan’ or Islamic call to prayer over loudspeakers between 10 pm and 6 am. After right-wing group Sri Ram Sene’s calls to protest this by playing the Hanuman Chalisa and other devotional songs at 5 am at temples, Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said that the state would “not hesitate to resort to harsh measures" against those who take the law into their own hands.
On Tuesday, May 10, the state government issued a circular with a set of directions on the use of loudspeakers and to remove them if they were not authorised by the 'designated authority.' With this, existing users of loudspeakers, public address systems and sound-producing instruments should obtain written permission from the Designated Authority within 15 days. If permission for the same is not obtained, the loudspeakers or other sound-producing instruments are liable to be seized within 15 days of the given deadline.
With IANS inputs