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The town of Nagamangala in Karnataka witnessed communal violence during a procession taken out ahead of the immersion of a Ganesh idol on Wednesday. The incident led to the suspension of the Inspector of the Nagamangala Town Police Station, Ashok Kumar, on charges of dereliction of duty. The Deputy Commissioner of Mandya, Kumar, confirmed the suspension and stated that the situation in the town was returning to normalcy. Schools, colleges, shops, and businesses were functioning normally.
Strong police presence continued in the town, with prohibitory orders in force following the violence. Home Minister G. Parameshwara announced the suspension of the police officer and sought a report on the reasons for the violence, vowing to take stern action without hesitation. Meanwhile, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy, visited the violence-hit areas and claimed that the trouble was “pre-conceived” and “sponsored by the Congress”. He criticized the Congress government for administrative failure and a lapse of duty by the local police.
The BJP formed a fact-finding committee led by former Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan to investigate the incident. The committee also comprises former Ministers Bhyrati Basavaraj and Narayana Gowda, and former IPS officer K. Bhaskar Rao. The BJP criticized the government's response to the violence, questioning how miscreants could organize petrol bombs, swords, and stones for the attack in a spur of the moment. The opposition also accused the government of listing the names of “victims as top accused” in the FIR. In Bengaluru, police detained around 40 individuals who attempted to protest outside Town Hall, demanding swift action against those responsible for the violence.
Source: Nagamangala violence: Police inspector suspended; situation returning to normality