Mangaluru: Communal tension grips Vamanjoor, Ulaibettu after clashes

Mangaluru, Dec 6: Around 15 people including women and children were injured after a clash between Sangh Parivar activists and local residents belonging another community at Ulaibettu and Vamanjoor villages on the outskirts of Mangaluru on Friday night.

The clash erupted after a group of Sangh Parivar activists heading to Bababudangiri to take part in controversial Datta Jayanthi celebrations allegedly damaged an yet-to-be inaugurated road stretch at Ulaibettu.

To facilitate the concreting work of Parari-Ulaibettu-Permanki road, the movement of heavy vehicles on the road was prohibited.

However, there was a difference of opinion among authorities with regard to allowing vehicles on the road again, the police said.

It is said that some youth wearing dattamale' from Permanki removed the sand meant for concreting the road at Ulaibettu and travelled by a bus on the road. This enraged the some youth belonging to another community and they allegedly threw stones at the bus, the police added.

Later miscreants belonging to communities engaged in clashes at Ulaibettu and surrounding areas, sources said. Three women, who were in an autorickshaw, were also assaulted, the locals said.

The police said a few hours after the assault, some miscreants, said to be Sangh Parivar activists, threw stones at Badriya Juma Masjid in Vamanjoor exacerbating tension in the region.

As the news began to spread, a few local Muslims also gathered near the Masjid. Meanwhile, police rushed to the spot and tired to bring the situation under control.

Two auto rickshaws and four two-wheelers were damaged in the incident. Youth from both the communities were attacked, the police added. The police have beefed up security to prevent any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, the Dakshina Kannada district units of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal have jointly given call for district bandh on Monday, December 8.

This is initial report. Click on following links for more details:

Communal clash: Muslim families allege brutality at the hands of Sangh Parivar activists, police

Argument over new road snowballed into communal clash, says city police chief