Tension gripped Sira town on Friday night after two youths allegedly ‘teased’ a girl from a particular community.
Four people were injured and scores of vehicles damaged in the violence following the alleged eve-teasing. Police have taken 27 people into custody.
The administration declared a holiday for schools and colleges on Monday, and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC till Thursday.
Deputy commissioner K S Sathyamurthy and superintendent of police Raman Gupta are camping at the town along with three platoons of KSRP and DAR.
The trouble started when two bicycle-borne youths honked allegedly at a girl who was walking across Kote Circle on Sunday evening.
People of the girl’s community lodged a complaint with the police and a compromise was reached by 9.30 pm. However, some miscreants attacked the two youths near the SBM branch. As the news spread across the town, more than 500 people laid siege to the town police station demanding action against the attackers. The police managed to summon town municipal councillors belonging to the community to pacify the mob.
But miscreants started hurling stones at the police station in the night and tension spread to Soppinahatti, Banninagara and Kacheri Mohallah areas where houses were attacked, sources said. Superintendent of Police Raman Gaupta and Deputy Commissioner S K Satyamurthy rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.In-charge Central Range IGP K B Raveendra Kumar also visited the town. Satyamurthy told Express that he would camp at the town to restore normalcy. He urged the public not to heed rumours.
Background
Sources said the eve-teasing incident was just a trigger as resentment had been brewing over a dispute regarding the construction of a shopping complex.
One community had opposed the construction as the land on which the complex was coming up was meant for a graveyard. Some groups had staged a protest urging the government not to allow the complex to come up on the site.
They had also brought a stay from the High Court on the construction.
The pent-up anger over the issue might have triggered the violence after the eve-teasing incident, the sources said.