BENGALURU: An argument between Army personnel and locals turned ugly on Wednesday, forcing police to resort to mild caning in JC Nagar.
The incident occurred after Army directed locals frequenting the mosque inside Parachute Regiment Training Centre (PRTC) to use an alternate road for the mosque at a disputed site in Kaval Byarasandra.
As Army personnel dumped mud around one of the entrances to the mosque, locals gathered around the venue resulting in a tense situation. As Army personnel tried to evict them from the premises, there was some pushing and shoving between the two groups.
The police, who were informed about the incident, resorted to mild caning to disperse the crowd and prevent any untoward incidents.
According to JC Nagar police, “The issue has been festering for a few years. There has been friction as the maulvi and watchmen of the mosque reside inside PRTC premises beside the mosque. The Army has been asking them to vacate.
On Wednesday, Army personnel blocked the entrance to the land by dumping mud and asked local residents to use another route. This led to an altercation between enraged locals and army personnel at around 10 am, and police had to go to the spot. The DCP and ACP also visited the area. A hearing in the case is scheduled for today. A stay order to maintain status quo is expected. The situation has been defused now, and the mud has been removed.”
A release issued by the Army said that Mysore Lancers Military Mosque and Anjaneya Swamy Military Temple are located on defence land which was built for the troops of Mysore Lancers during the pre-Independence period.
“It was noticed that some people were staying in the premises illegally. They were served notice to vacate. The occupants did not heed to the notice and hence legal action had to be taken to evict them... All legal procedures were followed during the conduct of the eviction process,” the release said.