Close on the heels of two incidents of group clash at Ilanthila village in Uppinangady, Dakshina Kannada district, on Sunday night, another attack took place there on Monday night, giving the incidents a communal colour.
Mohandas Shetty, who runs a fish vending stall at Subrahmanya Cross in Uppinangady, along with his younger brother, Ashok Kumar Shetty, complained to the Uppinangady police that a group of about 25 people reached his stall on motorcycles and a car and randomly assaulted him, his brother, and a customer, Mahesh, with sharp weapons on Monday night.
This is believed to be in retaliation to group clashes reported from Ilanthila on Sunday night, Mohandas said in his complaint. On August 22, their stall was set on fire and the Uppinangady police had registered a case on a complaint by Ashok who said that the previous day a few persons had issued a threat to him against running his fish vending business.
Meanwhile, the Uppinangady police have arrested Jayaram, 21, and Shodhan, 21, who are said to have assaulted two groups of people at Ilanthila on Sunday night. Superintendent of Police Rishikesh Sonawane said additional forces, comprising two police inspectors, four sub-inspectors, 38 constables, three District Armed Reserve parties, and two KSRP platoons, had been deployed as a precautionary measure.
A special team of officers from Puttur, Bantwal, Belthangady, and Uppinangady had been formed for speedy investigation of the attacks, he said.
An eyewitness said it all started innocuously, when Jayaram, who runs a mobile eatery at Uppinangady, questioned a few people as to why they were staring at him on Saturday. When they went near his residence, a verbal clash ensued after which Jayaram, Shodhan, and others are said to have assaulted Mohammed Fayaz and Hafeez on Sunday evening. Later, people from both the communities came together and another attack took place around 8 p.m., according to the eyewitness.
The Superintendent of Police, however, said reasons for these clashes could be ascertained only after the investigation.
Meanwhile, DYFI State president Muneer Katipalla said the Government itself appears to be foisting violence and there was a need for people to exercise restraint. Group clashes reported on Sunday and Monday were targeted against different communities, while the district administration’s hands were kept tied, he said.
Dakshina Kannada BJP spokesperson Jagadish Shenava told reporters on Tuesday that Sangh Parivar activists “bore the brunt of the attacks”. The law should be allowed to take its own course, he said, and added that no one should indulge in retaliatory attacks.
