Competitive sloganeering whipped up frenzy before communal violence erupted in Nagamangala, says FIR

FIR details religious slogans sparking violence during Ganesha procession, leading to clashes and police intervention in Nagamangala town.

The First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Nagamangala Town police indicates that religious slogans whipped up the frenzy on both the sides, culminating in violence during Ganesha idol immersion procession on Wednesday night.

Tracing the sequence of events that culminated in the violence, the FIR mentions that the youth of Badrikoppalu village near Nagamangala town, and belonging to Gajapade Yuvaka Sangha, took out a procession at 1.30 p.m. and the immersion was to take place at Hamparasakola.

The procession went through Kotebetta Road, T.B. Circle, Mariyappa Circle, Mandya Circle, and approached Mysuru Road near which there is a mosque. The procession took a U-turn near the mosque and about 100 to 150 members burst crackers, danced, and raised ‘Jai Sriram’ slogans for 10 minutes. Though the police directed the youth to move on, they refused.

Soon, about 100 to 150 members belonging to the minority community also assembled at the spot and chanted ‘Allahu Akbar’ and this competitive sloganeering went on for sometime.

The FIR states that B.G. Ravi, sub-inspector of police, and other personnel intervened and tried to pacify both groups in a bid to prevent the situation from turning ugly. But in the melee, some members of both groups were engaged in skirmishes, resulting in stone pelting. At this juncture, the police resorted to lathi-charge to quell the mob and force the procession to move on.

The FIR mentions that at this stage, youth belonging to both communities brandished weapons, including iron rods, machetes, and pipes, and raised incendiary slogans. The police sensing that the situation was getting out of hand sought reinforcement even as they tried to restore order by when many shops and vehicles were torched by the mob.

Police personnel also came under attack and some of them were hospitalised for minor injuries, states the FIR. It has named 54 persons drawn from both communities apart from 100 to 150 people named as “A 55” whose names and details are yet to be ascertained.