DHARWAD: Sangh Parivar men ransacked the pushcarts of fruit sellers belonging to the Muslim community at Nuggikeri Hanuman temple in Dharwad on Saturday evening.
The mob arrived chanting slogans. They went berserk as soon as they reached the temple and ransacked the pushcarts and hurled the fruits onto the road. This resulted in a heated argument between both sides before the police reached the spot and restored some normalcy.
The video of a shopkeeper, Nabisab, giving an interview to the media and mourning the loss of his day's earnings had gone viral.
The pro-Hindu activists alleged that they have given a memorandum to the temple authorities around fifteen days back seeking not to permit people belonging to other religions to do business. The people doing business in front of the temple were also told so. But the vendors in front of the temple failed to oblige.
However, Nabisab, a vendor belonging to the Muslim community said for the last 15 years he has been doing business in front of the temple and there had been no objection from his Hindu friends. The latest incident, he said, is causing him much concern.
"The temple authorities or anybody haven't instructed us to vacant the place. We have faced a loss of thousands of rupees and who is responsible. A police constable was on the spot but he was helpless as the group of people were doing ruckus,” he added.
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The senior administrator at the temple said they were not aware of the issue and now the meeting is being held to know what has happened.
A senior police officer said a meeting will be held with temple authorities and after a detailed investigation, the further course of action will be decided.
Dharwad rural police have registered a case against the right-wing members who vandalised the fruits.
According to a report in a national English language daily, apart from Dharwad, communal tension also prevailed at Mulbagal in the Kolar district. Prohibitory orders have been imposed for three days in Mulbagal following the tension sparked by a stone-pelting incident during the Ramanavami procession.