MYSURU: Tension prevailed in Udayagiri on Monday night when a large mob thronged the police station there demanding that action be taken against a man who had shared an offensive post showing I.N.D.I.A bloc leaders in a bad light.
Police resorted to lathi-charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the unruly mob. At least nine police personnel, including an ACP, two inspectors and three constables, were injured and some vehicles were damaged when the mob threw stones at the station.
However, the situation was peaceful on Tuesday and security has been tightened in Udayagiri and surrounding areas of Mysuru. Trouble started after the man shared an offensive post on social media, which had morphed semi-nude images of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav, and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal wearing skull caps. The images also had some slogans in Arabic.
ADGP Hithendra, who rushed to the city on Tuesday, took the police officers to task for their delayed action against the unruly mob. He sought to know why the accused was taken to Udayagiri station and why police allowed people to assemble there.
It is alleged that the news of police taking the accused into custody after registering a suo-motu case was leaked. Immediately, people rushed to the station where an argument between them and police personnel broke out. Soon, some in the crowd started throwing stones at the station and police personnel.
However, the situation took a political turn when Congress leaders started blaming RSS and BJP for the incident. BJP leaders, meanwhile, accused local Congress leaders of inciting trouble.
BJP, Congress leaders face off at police station
Former Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha, who visited the police station on Tuesday, condemned the incident and termed it a shameful act. Stating that police personnel are being targeted by unruly mobs, he accused the Congress government of failing to take decisive action against troublemakers.
Meanwhile, Udayagiri police station witnessed high political drama as BJP and Congress leaders engaged in a heated argument after Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka arrived there. After Ashoka’s arrival, Congress leaders, including KPCC spokesperson M Lakshman and former Mayor Ayub Khan, also attempted to visit the station. However, police personnel stopped them midway, leading to an argument between Congress workers and police personnel.
Meanwhile, BJP workers insisted that Ashoka be allowed to complete his visit.