Tension prevailed in Bhalki on Wednesday after some youths sought the removal of a Buddha statue which they alleged had been installed in the town tank-bed illegally.
A group of youths gathered near the Bhalki Lake where they said a temporary platform was built and a Buddha statue installed overnight.
Some flags were also tied to the poles in the tank-bed that has partially dried.
The protesters argued that the structure was illegal and was built by encroaching upon the front portion of the lake.
They sought the removal of the structure and the statue.
They alleged that some mischievous youth had built the platform within 100 metres of the tomb of Sri Channabasava Pattaddevaru, the former seer of the Bhalki Mutt, only to disturb the law and order situation in the city. Some traders and members of pro-Kannada organisations joined the protest. When a team of officials led by tahsildar Vishwajit Mehta and Deputy Superintendent of Police B.S. Malagatti tried to remove the statue and take it to the police station, another group opposed it.
They said a statue of Buddha was sacred and it could not be removed. They argued that the government should use their discretion to regularise the structure and reinstate the statue. Some youth called for a snap strike and shops downed shutters. Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Reddy spoke to both the groups and convinced them to leave the spot.
He asked the youth to apply to the district administration as per law to seek permission to install the Buddha statue.
The statue was shifted to the Bhalki police station later.
“We have taken into custody four youth who were trying to create trouble. The situation is peaceful now,” a police officer said. Prohibitory orders have been clamped in the city under section 144 of CrPC.
Protesters argued that the structure was built by encroaching front portion of lake
