BENGALURU: Communal clashes, which have spread across Uttara Kannada district during the week, have become a regular occurrence in Karnataka over the past few years. Since 2011, 120 such incidents have been reported in the State, resulting in the death of 20 people belonging to different communities, including a policeman. National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) - 2016 reveals that Karnataka is the most communally sensitive State in South India.
According to data provided by the Home Department, 12 of the 20 victims of communal riots since 2011 belonged to the majority community and seven to the minority community. In terms of injuries, 214 were from majority community and 200 from minority community. As many as 60 policeman were also hurt. During the same period, one policeman, 830 persons belonging to minority community and 725 from majority community were arrested during the riots. Between 2011 and 2017, the worst year in terms of communal riots was 2015. The year saw 19 communal clashes, resulting in the death of five people. A total of 254 complaints were registered against various individuals for rioting, which had resulted in injuries to 129 persons. Property worth Rs 9.52 cr was damaged during riots, which were reported in different parts of the State.
Many of the riots, according to reports, occur during the celebration of religious festivals. Karnataka registered the highest number of communal incidents in South India. The trend was also observed in the previous NCRB data. It shows that there were 42 instances of communal riots with 100 victims in 2016. In comparison, Kerala had 21 and Tamil Nadu had five communal incidents, while no such cases were booked in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.