Mangalore, July 30: Two communities clashed with each other and caused communal riots on Tuesday July 29 at Sacheripet near Moodbidri. The community hatred in the area was under wraps till now but suddenly busted out on Tuesday.
The Karkala policemen led by Udupi district assistant superintendent of police (ASP), Annamalai, resorted to lathi charge when the situation got out of control. It is learnt that four persons were arrested relating to these conflicts.
The cows left for grazing used to be stolen on a regular basis from Sacheripet and surrounding areas since sometimes. In many cases, cattle which fell off the trucks when they were being illegally transported to slaughter houses were found lying on the road.
Several Hindu youth from the area were angry and disturbed at these occurrences. This had resulted in mounting of tension between Hindu and Muslim communities. There were also rumours that youth from Muslim community had been becoming closer to girls from the Hindu community as part of a strategic plan to launch ‘Love Jihad’. The later conflict was however behind the scenes and had not been disclosed.
In a recent case, a youth named Anwar intercepted an auto rickshaw driver from Sacheripet and abused him by using filthy words. On Tuesday, July 29, the same youth, who was travelling in a car with a friend named Nayaz, had approached an auto rickshaw driven by Dinesh from Kadandale at high speed, and had avoided hitting the three-wheeler at the last minute.
The car then plunged into the roadside storm drain, when Dinesh stopped his auto rickshaw and questioned Anwar, it is said that Anwar behaved with arrogance and started mocking him. After this, Anwar got admitted to hospital and filed police complaint, alleging that Dinesh along with his friends had assaulted him.
On the basis of this complaint, the police arrested Dinesh and three other accused by Tuesday evening. Angry Hindu youth then moved to Sacheripet in droves from various villages, and demanded for the release of the arrested youth, who they claimed, were innocent.
The issue soon started snowballing into communal clashes, noticing this Police officer Mahadev conveyed the information to Udupi ASP. Additional police contingents were then rushed to Sacheripet. These contingents then caned the crowds and dispersed them.
