KOPPAL: The Koppal police arrested two youth for violating the flag code by replacing the Ashoka Chakra on the national flag with an Arabic sentence. The incident occurred at 9th ward of Yelburga town of Koppal district two days after Eid Milad, but came to light on Friday night after photos of the flag were shared on social media platforms.
On Saturday, some people complained to the Yelburga police that the flag, with Arabic text, was flying on top of BB Fathima Dargah. The police visited the spot and asked the dargah authorities to remove it.
Later, Mohammad Danish Kutubuddin Khazi and his brother Mohammad Adinan Khazi were arrested and an FIR was registered.
The accused admitted that they stitched the flag and instead of the Ashoka Chakra in the middle, they wrote ‘La Illah Illalla Mohammad Rasul Allah’ and Madina Masjid in Arabic.
Residents of the district, who have seen witnessing communal disturbance over the last few days, requested the police to keep a tight vigil to avoid such incidents.
Last week during Eid Milad, a Hindu organisation protested against a banner on which ‘Free Palestine’ was written. The banner was removed after the police objected to it.
To maintain peace in the district, Muslim and Hindu community leaders have been holding communal harmony meetings.
Shivakumar Hiremath, a Kannada writer and poet who has been creating awareness on communal harmony in Koppal and Vijayanagar districts, said, “We have many people who want peace and communal harmony. But there are others who erect barriers to such moves by indulging in such activities.
We are meeting leaders and senior citizens of all communities, asking them to hold peace meetings and to tell people about the importance of festivals and not to use these events to create communal disturbance.”