Panchamasali seer alleges police instigated violence outside Suvarna Soudha; says stir will be intensified

He claimed some policemen had thrown stones on the vehicles and injured their own fraternity

A day after Panchamasali reservation agitation in Belagavi turned violent, Basava Jayamruthyunjaya Swami of the Kudalasangama Panchamasali Peetha, honorary president of the Panchamasali reservation agitation committee, denied the charge that members of the committee threw stones, damaged vehicles, and injured police personnel.

He, in turn, alleged that some policemen in plainclothes had thrown stones at vehicles and injured their own fraternity, only to defame the Panchamasali community. He was speaking to reporters after a meeting with the committee leaders at Gandhi Bhavan here on Wednesday.

“The whole thing was a conspiracy. The police staged the attack on the protesters by strategic planning,” he alleged.

He went on to allege that Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) R. Hitendra was responsible for the mismanagement of the protest and the lathi-charge that ensued. He demanded action against the police officer and demanded that cases registered against the protesters be withdrawn.

“We will not stop our struggle. We will fight in every village from tomorrow. Intensive struggles will be held near the Hattaragi and Hirebagewadi tollgates,” he said.

To a query, he said that Tuesday’s protest could not be called violent. It was a peaceful protest. The police ordered a lathi-charge without provocation, he alleged. He denied that the committee did not violate the High Court order that asked them to conduct a peaceful protest without causing any law and order disturbance.

“We have been fighting for over two years, to seek the re-categorisation of the Panchamasali community into OBC 2A category. All our protests have been peaceful. No government in the past has oppressed us, or tried to suppress our agitation,” the seer said.

The seer denied that Mr. Siddaramaiah had invited him for talks. “The invitation came after the lathi-charge and not before,” he said.

To a query, he said he had not provoked the crowd. “It is true that I said that the State government would be responsible for any untoward incident during the tractor rally. I did not mean violence, I meant an intensified struggle in future,” he said. “We had given a call for storming of the Suvarna Soudha. It does not mean it was a call for forceful entry,” the seer said.

He said three Ministers — Laxmi Hebbalkar, M.C. Sudhakar, and H.C. Mahadevappa — who came to meet the protesters at the Kondaskoppa protest site, did not give any concrete assurance.

“Our community members insisted that the Chief Minister come to the protest site and announce reservation benefits to Panchamasalis on the spot. When this was not done, our activists got upset,” the seer said.

Published - December 11, 2024 09:17 pm IST