The police are still clueless about what triggered Wednesday’s violence in Belagavi which saw mobs go on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, and pelting stones and bottles in several areas of Belagavi even as the winter session of the state legislature is underway in the city.
Despite the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Home Minister and the state's top cops in the city, the government failed to control the violence that left several top police officers, including Commissioner T G Krishna Bhatt, DCP Amarnath Reddy and DySP Balachandra injured.
Despite the indiscriminate firing by the rampaging mob in the heart of the city, the police arrived only an hour later, going by eyewitnesses. Some claim that officers of the Market Police Station, close to the affected areas, too did not arrive on the scene even two hours after the incident. It is also alleged that some of the top police officers of Belagavim except for DCP Reddy and Seema Latkar, were reluctant to enter the trouble-torn areas Wednesday night.
" Several local leaders alerted the police officers about stone-throwing soon after it began at Kangral Galli and Chandu Galli at 10.30 pm but none of police officers arrived at the spot for one hour,'' said a resident of Darbar Galli.
On Thursday the police said they had no idea what provoked the pitched battle between the Muslims and Hindus at Chandu Galli, Kangral Galli, Khadak Galli, Ghee Galli, Darbar Galli, Chavat Galli, and other areas. Besides throwing stones, several groups of youth torched vehicles including a police jeep, and four two-wheelers near Darbar Galli and damaged a number of vehicles parked outside the houses here late in the night.
Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle, DCP Reddy said, based on CCTV footage, 22 youth had been taken into custody from both sides and five were found to be innocent. "Both the Hindus and Muslims are blaming each other for the violence, but it's not clear what led to it. We suspect the involvement of some local leaders, who will be arrested shortly," he added.
