Police probing conspiracy angle in Maddur stone-pelting incident on Ganesha procession

MANDYA: With suspicions rising about a pre-planned conspiracy with respect to the Maddur stone-pelting incident at a Ganesha idol immersion procession on Sunday evening, fingers are being pointed one Irfan, who hails from Channapatna and living in Maddur, and said to be radicalised. Deputy Inspector General of Police M B Boralingaiah on Tuesday, however, said the police are still looking into the conspiracy angle.

Stones pelting at a Ganesha procession in Maddur on Sunday evening was captured on a mobile phone.

Sources indicated that Irfan was perturbed by the Ganesha processions and on the provocation of his friend Jaffar, he may have indulged in stone-pelting. When the procession moved about 50 metres away from the mosque, Salman swithed off a high-mast lamp after which stones were pelted at the procession in the dark.

When the stones hit the tractor carrying the Ganesha idol, the Hindu youths got provoked, leading to tension. A group of 5-6 Muslim youths threw stones from near the mosque and escaped. While Irfan has been arrested along with 21 others, Jaffar fled.

DIGP Boralingaiah told the media that the arrested have been remanded to judicial custody. “We will go into the root of the issue to establish if there was any conspiracy. For now, there is peace and we are fully in control of the situation. Footage from CCTV shows that the lights were off at the time of the stone-pelting. Stones were definitely pelted at the procession, but from near the mosque, not inside. At this stage, we cannot say if it was pre-planned”, he said.

Mandya Police Superintendent Mallikarjun Baladandi said, “Prohibitory orders have been entended on Tuesday and police patrolling has been increased. We are also keeping a watch on troublemakers. About 800 police personnel have been deployed. Out of the 26 identified, 22 have been arrested and we are on the lookout for the rest. We plan to take them into custody and question them”.

The police plan to check the criminal backgrounds of the arrested and their affiliation to any organisations. Their call records are also being scrutinised and CCTV footage being examined. Meanwhile, lawyers in Maddur taluk boycotted courts on Tuesday in protest and unanimously decided that none of them will represent the arrested accused, president Shivanna said.

A peace meeting held by Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy saw only Muslim leaders and Congress workers in attendance along with officials. BJP district president Dr Indresh said, “The district in-charge minister says only one or two stones were pelted while the Home minister describes it as a minor incident. What is the use of the peace meeting? Cases have been filed against Hindus for staging protest, but the BJP legal team will be with them”, he said.