BENGALURU: A day after a shopkeeper was beaten up by six people for reportedly playing ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ during ‘Azaan’, several BJP leaders staged a protest at Siddanna Street in Nagarathpet, where the incident took place, on Tuesday.
Senior party leaders, including Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan, former minister and Rajajinagar MLA S Suresh Kumar and around 40 BJP workers, were detained and taken into preventive custody by the police.
As protests escalated with hundreds of BJP gathering on the narrow Siddanna Street, a heavy police deployment was made to prevent any untoward incident. Most shops and commercial establishments in the area were shut and there was a bandh-like situation in the locality. BJP workers raised ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans and chanted ‘Hanuman Chalisa’, demanding an impartial probe into the case.
A heated argument ensued between the police and the BJP workers when the police detained the leaders. Karandlaje slammed the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka, terming it ‘anti-Hindu’. She said a youth is attacked for playing ‘Hanuman Chalisa’, pro-Pakistan slogans are raised in Vidhana Soudha and a miscreant splashes acid on minor girls.
But in all these cases, no action has been taken, she said, adding that the law and order situation in the state has collapsed. At the same time, the Congress government is appeasing minorities, she alleged. She also demanded the resignation of Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara.
Tejasvi Surya said that over 5,000 people took part in the protest demanding action against those who assaulted the shopkeeper on Sunday.
No delay in taking action: Top cop
Tejasvi Surya alleged that due to pressure from the state government, the police delayed registering the case. The protest was called off after the police assured them that all the accused in the assault case will be arrested.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said efforts are on to arrest one more person involved in the case. “The incident was over playing devotional songs,” he added. He denied that police action was delayed. Soon after the incident, jurisdictional DCP visited the spot and the accused were arrested swiftly, he added.
The police have till now arrested five people in connection with the incident. While Suleman, Shahnavaz and Rohith were arrested on Monday, Tarun and a minor were picked up on Tuesday. The accused are booked for criminal intimidation (IPC 506), attempt to murder (IPC 307), intentionally insulting with intent to provoke breach of the peace (IPC 504) voluntarily causing hurt, and unlawful assembly (IPC 147).