Twenty-six-year-old Nawaz had come down from Hassan to Manjanady near here two days ago to see his elderly parents and was supposed to return on Sunday.
He is now in a hospital nursing a stab injury he sustained on Saturday night. His parents are with him hoping for Mr. Nawaz’s early recovery.
Mr. Nawaz, a technician in Janapriya Hospital in Hassan, was stabbed by two motorcycle-borne men when he was walking towards the ground near his house to play kabaddi around 8 p.m. The miscreants stabbed him after asking directions to P.A. Engineering College. A few minutes later, the miscreants stopped Sameer, a second year B.E student in P.A. Engineering College, and stabbed him after asking the same question.
These two incidents and the attack on Vishwa Hindu Parishad activist Rammohan on November 10 have shocked the residents of the area. “It really frightens us to drive or walk on the road after sunset. It’s such a sad situation,” Kaisal, on whose farmland Mr. Nawaz’s 70-year-old father Mohammed has been working for over three decades, said. “We are really pained over the attack on Mr. Nawaz, who is the only son of Mr. Mohammed. We hope the police see footage in closed-circuit cameras in the area and catch the perpetrators,” he said.
Ashraf Ullal, a relative of Sameer, said this was the first such attack reported in the area known for communal harmony. “Even during the height of communal trouble in the city in 1990s, we did not have any trouble in this region.” Mr. Ullal said communities had been taking part in each other’s religious programmes. “During the recent Tipu Jayanti, we did not display any posters and hold victory celebrations as we did not want to hurt other communities.”
Mr. Ullal said it was sad to see such attacks in the area. “My cousin [Mr. Sameer] is a reserved guy and restricts himself to the house. We are distraught that he is a victim of random attacks.” Mr. Ullal said he and other residents would submit a memorandum to City Police Commissioner M. Chandra Sekhar demanding the arrest of the perpetrators.
Mr. Rammohan continues to be in the hospital. “The injury on his head is yet to heal,” district VHP president Jagadish Shenva said.
In the grip
of fear
Rammohan, a VHP activist, was assaulted on November 10 near Kuttar
He is still in the hospital, the head injury is yet to heal
Nawaz, a technician in a hospital in Hassan, was stabbed by motorcycle-borne men on Saturday
Sameer, a second year B.E student, was stabbed on the same day
