Karnataka: Three arrested for Savarkar banner disturbance in Shivamogga on Independence Day

The issue of the removal of the Savarkar banner resulted in tension in the city and a 25-year-old youth Prem Singh was stabbed by unidentified people while he was shutting his shop in the Upparkeri area.

Shivamogga district officials imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the communally sensitive city following the disturbances on the occasion of Independence Day.

Parts of Shivamogga city, like Gandhi Bazaar, remained shut on Tuesday as the police deployed additional forces to bring the situation under control.

On Monday, activists suspected to be linked to Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) walked into the Ameer Ahamed Circle and attempted to remove the Savarkar banner and were mildly lathi-charged by police personnel who were on duty at the spot. Subsequently, Bajrang Dal activists staged a protest over the attempted removal of the Savarkar banner.

The communally sensitive city of Shivamogga witnessed the murder of a Bajrang Dal activist Harsha in February this year and the funeral of the youth saw stone throwing and arson by Hindu right-wing activists who were led in a procession through the city by local BJP MLA K S Eshwarappa and the MP B Y Raghavendra.

In the context of the celebrations of the 75th Independence Day, the Shivamogga police arrested a local SDPI member M D Asif on August 13 for protesting against the installation of a flex banner featuring the image of Savarkar in a mall in the city.