Communal tensions gripped Nagamangala town in Karnataka's Mandya district on Wednesday after clashes erupted between two groups during the Ganpati procession, news agency PTI reported. Stones were thrown at the procession, causing the clashes, following which a group set shops and businesses afire.
To control the law and order situation, the police have imposed restrictive orders, including Section 144 in the area, according to a report by news agency PTI.
According to reports, the event happened as devotees from Badarikoppalu were transporting statues of Ganesh for immersion. Stones were reportedly thrown at the procession allegedly from near a mosque as the procession was passing through the main road, India Today reported.
After that, Several Hindu youths staged a protest seeking justice and placed the Ganesha idol in front of the police station. Tensions were further raised when a group torched tyres and set fire to a few stores to express their outrage, according to Deccan Herald.
Videos shared on social media also showed the two throwing stones at the each other.
Senior representatives from the revenue and police departments raced to the site in an attempt to diffuse the tension and calm the throng.
In order to bring the situation under control, the police then issued a high alert in the region and implemented Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which is an order issued in urgent circumstances of nuisance or suspected danger.
The Ganesha idols have reportedly been temporarily positioned close to a temple as devotees call for the arrest of individuals who interfered with the procession, according to The Times of India.
Days before, six minors were reportedly arrested in Surat, Gujarat, for allegedly throwing stones at a Ganesh pandal, causing fights. This incident happened in Karnataka.
