Tensions ran high in Mangaluru on Sunday, June 9 following an altercation that resulted in two BJP workers being stabbed and another assaulted. The violence erupted after a verbal spat outside a bar that was allegedly triggered by provocative slogans raised by the BJP workers during a victory procession celebrating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in. The slogans chanted in front of a mosque in Boliyar are said to have provoked a group of 20-25 youths who followed the BJP workers on their bikes.
After the procession passed the mosque, the situation escalated about 2 km away from it, where the BJP workers stopped in front of a bar. An altercation ensued, leading to the assault of three BJP workers. Two of them, identified as Harish (41) and Nandakumar (24), were stabbed. A third worker by the name Krishna Kumar was beaten. According to the police, one worker who was stabbed is out of danger, while the other is undergoing surgery at a private hospital.
The incident occurred near Boliyar in Mangaluru under the jurisdiction of the Konaje police station. The FIR charges Pundi Bashir, Sidik, Monu, Aboobakkar. The Mangaluru police have detained three individuals in connection with the case. In response to the incident, police have bolstered security in the area to prevent further escalation.
Dakshina Kannada BJP president Sathish Kumpala, along with a number of BJP workers, rushed to the hospital to check on the attacked workers. A crowd of BJP supporters also gathered in front of the Konaje police station, demanding the arrest of those involved in the attack. The Konaje police have registered a case and charged the accused with IPC sections 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, being armed with a deadly weapon), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke), 506 (Criminal intimidation), 323 (Voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 307 (Attempt to murder), and 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object).
Newly elected Dakshina Kannada MP Brijesh Chowta has condemned the attack, criticising the police for inaction in similar previous incidents. The MP said, “This is the third such incident. It is the inaction of the police force in the previous two at Belthangady and Ullal that has let this happen. Clearly, Congress workers haven’t been able to digest Modi 3.0. The inability of the Congress government and its backend support to such elements has turned Karnataka into a den of such crime within a year. This won’t be taken lying down. The gutless Congress government machinery better take swift action or resign; Karnataka won’t let this reign of crime and lawlessness continue.”