Many questions remain unanswered 2 days after Hubballi violence

By Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: On Saturday, Hubballi, which lies 400km northwest from Bengaluru, witnessed a series of violent incidents after members of the Muslim community protested demanding stringent action against 20-year-old Abhishek Hiremath for a derogatory social media post.

Miscreants hurled stones at the Old Hubballi police station, police personnel, Diddi Hanumanth Temple, a hospital, a school and a few houses. The police had to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Hiremath had allegedly put a morphed image of a saffron flag atop grand mosques of Makkah and Madinah as his WhatsApp status. Though the police arrested him for hurting religious sentiments, the mob demanded that he be handed over to them. Around 100 persons have been taken into custody in connection with the violence. On Monday, a local court sent Hiremath to judicial custody till April 30.

Even as the city is returning to normalcy, many questions remain unanswered on how the protests suddenly turned violent.

Congress leader Altaf Halwoor says the incident appeared ‘pre-planned’ going by the ‘circumstantial evidence’.

He said high-mast lights at Indi Pump Circle, which were working fine till the time of the violence, were switched off when the violence erupted. “The Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) or the Karnataka Electricity Board should answer this,” he said.

He also raised questions about the protesters’ f ace coverings and the availability of stones in the locality. “Where did the protesters get face coverings? How and where did they get stones?” he asked.

Mohammed Yusuf Savanur, president ofthe Anjuman-e-Islam, a powerful Muslim organisation in the city, echoed Halwoor.

“We have requested the police to find out how the high mast street lamps were turned off during the stone pelting and how huge stones became available in the area. The police have assured us of a thorough investigation,” he said.

“We suspect the involvement of unscrupulous elements in the violence,” he said.

Hubballi Police commissioner Labhu Ram told News Trail that a full-scale investigation is underway. “We will first identify the miscreants before establishing their affiliation to any organisation, group or political party. We will answer all questions soon,” he said.

Dr. Abdul Kareem, who works at a hospital near the police station, said he did not see any lights near the police station on Saturday. “I saw a huge crowd, numbering around 3,000, outside the police station. During that time, youngsters riding 50 two-wheelers passed by our hospital. When I went near the police station, there were no lights in the area. Then I went home,” he said.

Venkatesh Gudgeri, a city resident, said someone might have instigated the people. “Hubballi is peaceful and people live here in harmony. We are still in a state of shock. We could not believe that such a thing happened here. I strongly believe that someone might have instigated them. But the major concern is that the incident is being used for political mileage,” he said.

Rizwan, a resident of Old Hubballi, says Muslims in his city take religious issues very seriously. “They were hurt and enraged about the objectionable post the accused had shared,” he said.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday termed the incident as an organised attack. “The police will not hesitate from taking stringent action against anyone taking law into their hands,” he said.