BHATKAL: During Hindu festivals, particularly Ganapati Habba, Mari Habba and Tair Habba, women in Bhatkal generally stand on the rooftops of their houses along with their children to watch processions passing in front of their homes. Muslim men, meanwhile, have traditionally stood along the roadsides to welcome festival organisers and offer them flowers. However, following an incident during the recent Ganesh immersion procession, questions are being raised in the town over whether even children standing on rooftops to watch such processions could now lead to legal complications for them and their parents.
The issue assumed significance after a police complaint was filed against children who were present on the rooftops of their houses during the Ganesh immersion procession. The police subsequently summoned six children to the police station and initiated action against them under the Juvenile Justice Act. On Friday, the parents of the children were telephoned and asked to bring their children to the police station, causing concern and fear among the families.
According to the parents, after they took the children to the police station, they were taken directly to a government hospital where they underwent medical examination. The parents further said preparations were then being made to take the children to Karwar. As news of this spread, local community representatives reached the police station and spoke to senior police officials, warning that if the children were taken to Karwar, a large number of people would gather at the police station and stage a protest.
According to the local representatives, following their intervention, the children were handed back to their parents a few hours later. They were reportedly told that further action in the matter would be taken after the conclusion of the Ganesh festival.
Sahil Online contacted Uttara Kannada Superintendent of Police Deepan M.N. regarding the matter. The SP clarified that the children had neither been arrested nor taken into police custody, but that action had been initiated against them under the Juvenile Justice Act. According to him, the police had received a complaint alleging that the children were standing on the rooftops of their houses and pelting stones at the Ganesh immersion procession.
However, when the SP was informed that a video reportedly available with the police showed the children playing among themselves on the rooftop, while women could also be seen standing there watching the procession as they normally do, and that none of the children appeared to be clearly throwing anything towards the procession, the SP said the matter was being investigated.
Meanwhile, some sections in Bhatkal have alleged that the local police are acting under pressure from the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. Responding to the allegation, the district SP rejected it, saying there was no truth in it and that the charge was baseless. Explaining the police action, the SP said that in the case of stone-pelting at a mosque in Gulmi, police had arrested two persons and produced them before the court after registering a case under non-bailable sections. When his attention was drawn to the fact that the two persons arrested in the morning were released the same evening, the SP said the role of the police was to arrest the accused and produce them before the court, while release on bail was a matter for the court.
Meanwhile, another incident has come to light in which stones were allegedly thrown at a tent put up by the Auto Rickshaw Union on a public platform adjacent to the Anjuman Ground for the Ganesh immersion procession on Friday. The Auto Rickshaw Union has lodged a complaint with the police against unidentified persons in connection with the incident.
The incident has also raised several questions. It is learnt that, as on every Friday, children were playing cricket at the Anjuman Ground on Friday morning. Some sections have expressed suspicion that a cricket ball may have gone towards the tent. However, it is also being said that the children play at a considerable distance from the tent and that it does not appear easy for a cricket ball to reach the tent from that location.
Another question being raised locally is that police security had already been deployed at the tent where the alleged stone-pelting took place. Moreover, the police station is located directly opposite the tent. Questions are therefore being raised as to how the alleged stone-pelting could have taken place without the police personnel stationed there noticing the stones hitting the tent.
Amid these developments, some sections of the public are now expressing apprehension that children playing cricket at the Anjuman Ground could also face action after the conclusion of the Ganesh festival.