Mangaluru: About 20 police personnel – allegedly accompanied by right-wing activists – broke open the doors of Muslim houses in the wee hours of Saturday, and arrested at least 28 persons for ‘supposedly pelting stones at the devotees’, which triggered communal unrest at Ulaibettu, in the outskirts of the city.

“When we were all asleep in the night, the police kicked our doors like goondas. About 20 police came inside the house, grabbed my son. When I asked what happened, they refused to say anything”, says aged Hasanabba, a fish trader.

In the very next house, Raziya wept saying her son who came from Dubai the previous evening, was also arrested by police – without citing any reason. “I stopped them, but they pushed me away”, she says and adds that he has to go back to Dubai on December 10.

“Is it a fault to be born Muslim?” rues another woman, saying her two sons were arrested, even when they were not involved in the communal clash. We are so good to the Hindu community. My children have so many Hindu friends. But, the police took my children just because they are Muslims, she feels.

Several Muslim houses, which are located on the stretch from Ulaibettu entrance (Dhwara), towards Kempugudde, were broke open by police in the wee hours of Saturday.

“I have to get a carpenter to repair the door to fix it again”, Abdul Razak says. While, in some houses, the doors are completely damaged and they have to fix a new door. Doors of few houses have the footprints of shoes, which indicate that  police kicked the door to get into.

One woman alleged that the police did not behave properly with her. “I stay with my two girl children. We  were all women at home. My husband works abroad. I was shocked and shivering when so many police broke the door open and got in.

The police did not bother to listen to us. They went inside our rooms, searched our cup boards. Used bad words to us”, she says in a state of shock.

They manhandled our women. There were no women police. The police are supposed to treat women with respect. Are we thieves? Did we kill anyone? 50-year old Abdul said on the ill treatment of police. ?

Hasanabba says that Ulaibettu was known for communal harmony. People here did not treat each other in terms of religion. “Outsiders came and cooked up the issue”, he says.

Meanwhile, the Mangaluru Rural police said that they have detained 28 persons for questioning.

Hindu Community protests

Subsequently, right-wing groups held a demonstration in front of Vamanjoor junction, claiming that the police did not protect the devotees who were on their way to ‘daatta peeta’, when the clash erupted between two religious groups.

The protestors gave a deadline to the police to arrest the miscreants who threw the stones at the devotees. They warned to intensify the protest if the police do no book the miscreants at the earliest. The protestors were led by Sri Rajashekarananda Swamiji of Gurpur Vajradehi Math.

‘Petty issue’

It is learnt that clashes erupted after a group of residents started using the newly-laid concrete road when another group objected it, saying that the road should not be used till curing of the concrete was complete. This led to a heated exchange of words followed by an exchange of blows. Subsequently, the gram panchayat called a meeting to compromise the issue.

However, in retaliation to the incident, another group threw a few stones on a place of worship around 10 p.m. on Friday night. As a result, there was a communal breakdown.

Releated: