The police also installed a national flag at the spot where the posters were put up, said sources.
Bengaluru: Karnataka’s Shivamogga district marked the Independence Day with violence after a man was stabbed amid a clash between two groups over putting up a banner featuring a photograph of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
According to reports, while one group had put up the poster, the other took it down, resulting in a clash. Sources said the second group not only took out the poster having Savarkar’s photograph but also put up one with Tipu Sultan’s photograph.
Later, the police came and confiscated the poster and also had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control. The police also installed a national flag at the spot where the posters were put up, said sources.
To calm down the situation, the police enforced prohibitory orders and banned large gatherings in the area and additional forces were pressed in service. Laxmi Prasad, a senior officer, said, “We have imposed Section 144. Tension flared and so we resorted to lathicharge. We are trying to verify if the man was stabbed over the same issue or was it something else.” He added that the man is undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital and is in a stable condition.
Tipu Sultan, of late, has become a controversial figure in Karnataka with the BJP and RSS dubbing him as a cruel ruler who persecuted both Hindus and Christians. They also say his rule was marked with forceful conversions to Islam.
When the Congress government wanted to celebrate Tipu Sultan’s anniversary, the locals of Coorg vehemently opposed the proposal.
