Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today directed the police to arrest those disrupting communal harmony in the sensitive Dakshina Kannada district and crack down on organisations disturbing peace.
The chief ministers remarks follow a spate of stabbing incidents in the district, including that of an RSS worker by unidentified presons on July 4. The victim died on Saturday.
"For the last two to three months, some criminal incidents have taken place in Mangaluru... We have to keep a watch on the communal goons... Some organisations have been involved," he told reporters after a review meeting with state police officials here.
RSS worker Sarath Madivala (28) was attacked on July 4 night when he was leaving for home after closing his laundry shop at Bantwal.
Hindu organisations and the BJP had staged protests against the attack at Bantwal where prohibitory orders were enforced on May 27 following skirmishes between two groups.
The orders are in force till July 11 in Puttur, Sullia, Belthangady and Bantwal in coastal Dakshina Kannada district following recent communal clashes in some areas.
The murder of a Social Democratic Party of India worker Ashraf at Benjanapadavu in Bantwal on June 21 further escalated tensions forcing authorities to extend the prohibitory orders.
Siddaramaiah also said that DGP Rupak Kumar Dutta would be visiting Mangaluru to assess the law and order situation.
In a recent press meet, he had said, "The Mangaluru region has been known for peace and harmony, but it has now turned into a hotbed of communal disharmony."
Perpetrators of the violence have not yet been arrested, but steps are being taken to ensure that they are brought to book, the chief minister had said.
It does not matter if they belong to PFI (Popular Front of India), Sri Rama Sena, Bajrang Dal, RSS or SDPI, he had said.
He had also alleged that some people were indulging in "instigating communal hatred" in the coastal district with an eye on the state assembly elections due next year.
On July 8, the RSS had demanded an impartial probe into the death of Madivala.