Karnataka: Polls in sight, clashes leave Uttara Kannada tense

Following his death, communal violence targeting establishments owned by members of the minority community was witnessed in neighbouring Kumta and Sirsi. According to local residents, trouble began almost a week before Paresh’s death, during a peace meeting attended by Hindu and Muslim leaders in Chandavar village of Honnavar taluk.

The peace meeting was convened by district authorities to facilitate smooth conduct of processions in the village on December 1 to mark Hanuman Jayanthi and Id ul Nabi. “There was a ruckus at the meeting between the two communities over the extent to which Id ul Nabi celebrations should be organised,’’ said a senior police officer.

“Over the past few years, the peace meeting has been attended by local residents. This year, there were a lot of outsiders — mostly activists from right-wing groups. They insisted that the Muslim procession should end before the entrance to the Hanuman Temple. They also objected to us putting a replica of the tomb in Mecca at the point of culmination of our procession,’’ said Mohammed Kaleem, a resident of Chandavar village.

On the eve of the celebrations, right-wing activist Shrikanth Naik and eight others allegedly pulled down flags put up by Muslims at Chandavar Naka, according to a complaint registered by Honnavar police on its own. “Following the fight at the peace meeting and disturbances on November 30, we were contemplating cancelling our celebrations. But police insisted that we go ahead since Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had issued instructions to ensure that Id ul Nabi and Hanuman Jayanti celebrations are both held peacefully,’’ said Kaleem.

On the day of the celebrations, there were more disturbances, with local BJP leader Surya Soni Nayak accusing Muslims of attacking his car and police registering cases against Hindus and Muslims for attempting to cross police lines set up to prevent the religious processions from crossing each other. “There were no clashes, but false messages stating that Muslims had stoned Hanuman Temple spread on social media,” said a Muslim resident of Chandavar.

According to Arvind Karkekodi, editor of a Kannada news magazine in Honnavar, Chandavar was simmering when a road accident took place on December 6 on the highway in Honnavar. The accident, involving the auto-rickshaw of one Girish Mesta and motorcycle of one Rafique Sab, triggered a clash between 200 Hindu and Muslim youths at a disputed spot. It is during this clash that Paresh is said to have disappeared.

Azad Annigere, owner of Good Luck Hotel, and 17 other Muslims and two dozen Hindus were arrested for involvement in the clashes. Later, Annigere was made an accused in Paresh’s death. At the youth’s funeral, Union Minister and local MP Ananth Kumar Hegde said, “We will not rest until we get justice for the blood that has been spilt.’’

In the days after Paresh’s death, communal violence was reported from neighbouring regions and exaggerated messages alleging that Paresh was tortured and mutilated circulated on social media. On December 11, over 7,000 people marched through Kumta.

“They identified our shops and stoned them,” said Mohammed Shafi, president of Kumta town Jamaat. Police have named several local BJP leaders, including Nayak, as alleged instigators of the violence. Nayak is missing since then.

“We are living in fear. We do not know what will happen if they try to create a situation like what happened in Muzaffarnagar ahead of the UP polls. Police are doing their best but we do not know if they will be able to contain these crowds,” said Amjad Shaikh, a civil contractor and member of the Jamaat.