Mangaluru, Nov 22: If intelligence reports are to be believed, the reason for the recent communal disturbance including clashes, stone pelting, murder and assaults that took place in Mangaluru, Puttur, Bantwal and BC Road, were provocative rumours that were spread through WhatsApp groups.
With regard to spreading provocative messages through social networking sites, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim has urged the police department to take serious cognisance of inflammatory or provocative texts, audio messages and images sent by miscreants to spark clashes, and appealed to the public not to heed rumours or inflammatory messages spreading on social networking sites.
According to intelligence reports, such provocative messages spread on Whatsapp were reason for the stone pelting incident on SDPI demonstration in front of Ranga Mandira in BC Road on November 12. In this regard, the police department has kept a vigilant eye on few suspicious persons active on Whatsapp application in Kaikamba, Parliya and BC Road. Based on suspicion, a few persons are being investigated, said Bantwal police station inspector Nandakumar.
A few days ago, a flex banner had been put up near the highway in Kaikamba in BC Road proclaiming wishes on occasion of Tipu Sultan Jayanti. Images of miscreants damaging this flex banner had been uploaded on certain WhatsApp groups. With an intention to instigate social elements, provocative statements had been left behind under the damaged flex banner. It is alleged that members of another WhatsApp group had responded strongly in reaction to this incident.
As a reaction to this, two groups belonging to different communities had a clash of words in this regard. Even before this heated discussion had cooled down, the local unit of SDPI held a demonstration condemning the clashes in Madikeri that erupted over Tipu Jayanti. With this atmosphere of inflamed sentiments, a certain group of youth began pelting stones at the demonstration, learning that they were not granted permission by the district administration to conduct such a protest.
This resulted in a tense situation in BC Road, which spread to other parts of the district. Seizing the opportunity, Bajrang Dal leader Bhuvith Shetty and his associates attacked two youths in Bantwal with the sole intention to exacerbate the violence in the district. In this attack a Hindu youth was killed and a Muslim youth was critically injured.
Once again, the hate-mongers took to the social media including WhatsApp to spread false information and claimed that a Hindu youth was murdered by Muslims. As a result the very next day the Hindutva groups in the coastal district imposed a bandh, which was also not free from untoward incidents.
Police vigilant against rumours on Whatsapp, Facebook
The incidents of stone pelting on store fronts, houses and vehicles, assault on innocent persons and murder caused as a result of provocation stemming from inflammatory speeches, messages and images, aided in disrupting the peace and harmony in the district, said Mr Ibrahim.
In this regard, the deputy commissioner issued a notice to the police department to be vigilant about such inflammatory speeches or messages circulating on social media including WhatsApp.
In connection with uploading a morphed image of Sadhvi Balika Saraswati, a young VHP leader, the police have arrested a person named Mohammed Naufal, hailing from Bantwal and employed in Dubai. He was detained at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad in Hyderabad on November 12.
The police have also registered a case against the admin of a particular WhatsApp group which tried to blame the stabbing of victim Mohammed Iqbal on another youth. The police are also looking into the inflammatory rumours circulated by a youth on WhatsApp groups with regard to the murder of Harish in Bantwal, said Bantwal circle inspector K U Belliappa, assuring strict action against such rumour mongers.
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