Two injured in stabbing incident in Gadag

GADAG: In a stabbing incident reported during Muharram at Mallasamudra village on Tuesday, two youths have been injured and the condition of one is said to be critical. The injured, Tousif Hosamani and Mushtaq Hosamani, are being treated at Gadag Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) Hospital and the doctors said that Tousif’s condition is critical and he is under observation.

According to police sources, a disagreement that cropped up during the Muharram procession turned violent soon. A young man identified as Salman Badekhan’s leg touched some people during the procession and the latter objected to his behaviour, which is said to be the reason for the skirmish.

Salman’s friend Yallappa Gudi and his brother Somu joined in. This led to arguments between the two groups. Meanwhile, some youths allegedly stabbed Tousif and Mushtaq. This created a tense situation in the village for a while. As Tousif suffered a deep cut in his stomach, the villagers immediately shifted him to GIMS Hospital along with Mushtaq.

Soon after, security was beefed up in the village. On Wednesday, a case was registered against six villagers, namely Somu, Yallappa, Salman, Ramakrishna Handi, Shivu Gadagi and Dayanand Gudi. The police have already detained Somu, Yallappa and Salman and are looking for the rest.

After the incident, some villagers pelted stones at Somu’s house but the police stopped them and brought the situation under control on Tuesday night. SP Shivaprakash Devaraju said that they are investigating the incident following the statement recorded by Mushtaq. “Some are spreading rumours that it is a communal clash. As of now, there is no clear evidence of any communal angle to it. We request people not to spread rumours,” he added.