Mounesh Vishwakarma
Pics: Kishore Peraje
Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal
Bantwal, Jun 16: In the wake of clashes in Kalladka between people of two communities, a peace meet was held at Kalladka government higher primary school here on Friday June 16, presided over by superintendent of police Bhushan G Borase. Leaders from the two communities participated in the meet.
During the meeting, SP Borase assured that the police outpost at Kalladka lower town would be shifted to the bus stand near Kalladka junction and new building would be constructed at a cost of Rs 6 lac for this purpose.
"Just a handful of people committed some bad acts which soon flared into a communal clash, bringing blemish to the beautiful town of Kalladka. The elders and religious leaders of both the communities should guide the youngsters to maintain harmony through a peace committee. Let us have a cricket match for youngsters between the ages 18 and 25 to promote harmony. Police personnel including me and other officers will participate in it as a team," the SP suggested.
"The peace committee should help the police in catching the real culprits behind such criminal activities and save innocents from getting unnecessarily punished. While doing so, the committee should also see to it that those who support such anti-social elements are also reined in," he urged.
Addressing the gathering, RSS chief Dr Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat said, "It is not right to give communal colour to a fight that occured between two individuals. Who is responsible for the unnecessary stone-pelting that followed and the subsequent damage to property? If the police bow down to political pressure and arrest innocents, it further fuels the tension."
SP warns against provocative messages
Describing Dakshina Kannada as a 'garden' in which a 'serpent' called communalism is spreading fear, he said it was important to curb the drug menace prevailing in some parts of district in order to eliminate the 'serpent'.
"In the coming days, we will come up with sketches of the real culprits and arrest them, and at the same time, make sure that no innocent is arrested. For this purpose, only well-trained police personnel will be deployed in sensitive areas," the SP said.
"Those forwarding or spreading provocative messages through WhatsApp or Facebook will be jailed and stringent action will be taken against them," he warned.
In response to reports in a section of the media that police had carried out atrocities against women while making arrests in the Kalladka incident, SP Borase said that henceforth police raids will be video-recorded so as to prevent any such incidents from happening and also to ensure that innocents are not arrested or harassed.
Deputy commissioner Dr K G Jagadeesha also spoke and urged leaders of the both communities to strive hard to maintain peace and harmony in the district.
Former MLA Rukmayya Poohary, K Padmanabha Kottari, APMC president K Padmanabha Rai, Congress leader B K Idinabba, leaders T Krishnappa Poojary, Haneef Goltamajalu, Shareef, Dinesh Shenoy, Ayesha, auto rickshaw driver Ganesh, Siddique and others spoke on the occasion.
Tahsildar Purandara Hegde, DySP Bhaskar Rai, inspector Krishnaiah V, inspector A K Rakshit and others were present.