BHATKAL: Bhatkal town on Sunday night witnessed swift communal tensions forcing the taluk Police to resort to mild Lathicharge to prevent any kind of escalation and ensure peace.
Amidst the tragic death of 10 persons due to drowning at Shirali near Bhatkal, the very night witnessed a minor communal clash at the coastal town. The incident occured on Sunday night when a group of people tried to construct a structure which was demolished earlier.
However the local muslims objected to it and there was an argument between two groups.
According to the locals a place of worship stood there for several Years and was demolished by the authorities for development works. However few muslim groups objected to it saying this should not come up here and tried to demolish the makeshift structure to which the Hindu groups stood guard.
There was a heated exchange of words which even led to fisticuffs.
The Bhatkal Police intervened and tried to pacify the warring factions. However the war of words intensified and even a Police officer who tried to broker peace was pushed around. This angered the Police who resorted to mild Lathicharge and brought the situation under control.
The matter did not take time to be a political issue as the Hindu outfits and BJP leaders said that some locals are indulging in aggravating the situation and creating communal tensions.
Accordingly the Hindu outfits have argued that the "Devara Katte" (the said controversial site ) was removed with consent by the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI) on a condition that they will construct it alongside the road once the road widening is earmarked. " They promised to reconstruct it and assured us they would provide us the land. Accordingly the tiny temple has been built. The muslim groups are opposing it. They are nowhere concerned with it, because this is alongside NH 66," they said.
The place of dispute is now guarded by the Police. The situation is under control but the tension still prevails.