Cop suspended, intel chief transferred over Ganpati procession violence in Karnataka

A police inspector has been suspended for dereliction of duty and an intelligence head was transferred in connection with the violence during a Ganesh idol procession in Nagamangala in Karnataka’s Mandya district this week.
Police Inspector Ashok Kumar, who was posted at Nagamangala town police station, was suspended on Thursday evening, Mandya Superintendent of Police (SP), Mallikarjun Baldandi told news agency PTI.
The Karnataka government on Friday transferred intelligence head Sharath Chandra and appointed Hemanth Nimbalkar as his replacement following the violence in Nagamangala.
On Wednesday night, clashes broke out between two groups during the Ganpati procession, leading to tensions in Nagamangala. As the procession was passing on the main road, stones were thrown at them, allegedly from near a mosque.
Though the situation remains peaceful as of Friday, additional police forces continued to be deployed in the town, where prohibitory orders prohibiting assembly of more than four people have been imposed till September 14 (Saturday) as a precautionary measure.
Meanwhile, three more people were arrested, taking the total number of those held for the violence to 55. The 52 people who were initially arrested were sent to judicial custody for 14 days, police officials said.
Meanwhile, Union Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, a Lok Sabha MP from Mandya, visited the town on Friday. On Thursday, he strongly condemned the violence and slammed the Congress government in Karnataka.
“It is proof of ‘failure of law and order’ in the town that the miscreants of a community deliberately raised a ruckus by targeting the devotees who were walking peacefully in the procession of Lord Ganpati, throwing stones and slippers on the public and policemen, exploding petrol bombs and brandishing swords,” he alleged.
According to the police, an argument broke out between two groups when the Ganesh idol procession by devotees from Badarikoppalu village reached a mosque on Wednesday, and some miscreants hurled stones, which escalated the situation.
Following the clashes between the two groups, a few shops were vandalised and goods torched and vehicles set on fire on Wednesday night, they added. Two policemen and some people were injured during the clashes.
Police used mild force to disperse the crowd to control the situation.
A case had been registered for unlawful assembly, attempt to murder, obstructing public servants, destruction of public property and other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), according to the police.