Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur
Updated
Kundapur, Jan 21: Gangolli came to a halt on Wednesday January 21 after miscreants set fire to a shop, godown and cars causing a loss of several lacs. Following the incident, tense sitation prevailed in the area, and a bandh was called.
The police have clamped Section 144 in Gangolli until the situation completely returns to normal.
A shop named Venkateshwara Stores, a godown, Chevrolet Enjoy car parked in front of the show owner's house, and a Ritz car and 407 vehicle were set on fire by the miscreants at about 2 am. The owner of the shop Venkatesh Bhaskar Shenoy who was sleeping, heard some noise and came out to inspect. He saw some people setting fire to his property and despite screaming at them to stop, they went on with their act and fled the spot. Though he chased them for some distance, he could not succeed in catching them. The blazing fire forced him to cut short the chase.
Though he tried to extinguish the fire with the help of his family members and locals, they could not do much due to the intensity of the flames. The front portion of the shop, several items in front of the godown and Chevrolet car were gutted in the fire.
The incident was recorded on CCTV, which shows a team of two to three people pouring petrol on the shop and setting it on fire. One of them had covered his face. As the owner discovered the fire in its early stage, further damages were averted. The house which stood next to the shop was also saved.
The grocery shop is being run by Venkatesh Shenoy for the last twenty years. He is identified in religious circles and never had tension with other communities. He said that he had no enmity with anybody.
Bandh
Following the incident, pro-Hindu activists condemned the incident and protested demanding immediate arrest of the culprits. After protesting at the spot of the incident, they gathered in front of Rama Mandir and blocked the traffic by keeping stones across the road. No buses passed by after 9 am. All the vehicles were made to stop. An unannounced bandh was observed in Gangolli and most of the shops and establishments remained closed.
SP visits
Udupi district SP Annamalai visited the place and conducted inspection. Speaking to shop owners and protesters, he assured that the accused will be arrested by evening. He said that no untoward incidents should be allowed and people should maintain peace.
Kundapur police circle inspector Diwaker P M, Byndoor circle inspector Sudarshan, Gangolli station sub inspector Subbanna, Byndoor police inspector Santhosh Kaikini and others are stationed at the place. A KSRP battalion and three DAR policemen have also been deployed.
Kundapur divisional officer Charulatha Somal and tahsildar Gayatri Nayak visited the place and conducted inspection. Byndoor BJP president B M Sukumar Shetty, chief secretary Sadananda Uppinakudru, BJP district chief secretary Gururaj Uppunda, Hindu Jagruthi Vedike convener Dhananjay Kundapur, Arvind Koteshwar and others visited the place.
Man attacked
A person named Satish Bhandary (39), a barber by profession and resident of Gangolli, was attacked allegedly by a group of 15 youths near Nageshwari temple. It is alleged that he was assaulted with bats, wickets and stones. He was admitted to Kundapur government hospital with severe head injuries.
Calm
After the police imposed Section 144, some amount of normalcy was restored as protestors emptied the roads, and calm prevailed in Gangolli.