Tension in Rattihalli after stones thrown during bike rally by Hindu activists

HAVERI: Tension prevailed at Rattihalli in the district on Tuesday after some unidentified persons threw stones at vehicles, houses and a school during a bike rally organised to mark the inauguration of a statue of Sangolli Rayanna. Some women were also hurt in the incident while children of the school got frightened.

Last week, a procession of Sangolli Rayanna was stopped.

Five days ago, Muslim groups stopped a procession of a bronze statue of Sangolli Rayanna. They even erected barricades not to allow the procession to pass through. In some videos, some youths could be seen with huge stones in their hands.

Stones were hurled from the crowd; (right) scared schoolchildren.

On Tuesday, when Hindu activists were taking out a bike rally, stones were thrown from the crowd, which left some vehicles damaged and also hit some women.

Hindu activists taking out a bike rally; (right) Minister B C Patil.

Minister B C Patil, reacting to the incident, appealed to people to maintain peace. “I heard that the Sangolli Rayanna procession was blocked by people holding stones and threatened those taking out the procession. This cannot be forgiven because Sangolli Rayanna was a nationalist and died for the country. He didn’t fight for any particular community or religion, but gave up his life fighting for the country against the British. The police have lodged a case in connection with the incident”, he added.