"NIA investigation should be done into the Nagamangala incident": MoS Shobha Karandlaje

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 12 : Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje demanded that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigate the Nagamangala incident in which a riot broke out over allegations of stone pelting at a Ganpati immersion procession in Nagamangala in Karnataka's Mandya district on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, the BJP leader accused the Siddaramaiah government of only taking action against Hindus and stated that this incident was an insult to Lord Ganesh as well as Hindus.
She further questioned the government if it was a small incident in which several shops and vehicles were burnt by the miscreants.
"Whenever there is Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka, there is action against Hindus. What happened in Mandya yesterday is an insult to Lord Ganesh and Hindus. The government says this was a minor incident. If the burning of 25 shops of Hindus seems like a small incident to you, then what should have been a big incident?" she said.
"Siddaramaiah is against the Hindus, he is only appeasing the minorities. I demand the arrest of the culprits. Only Hindus have been arrested in this incident. An inquiry should be launched into this incident. NIA should probe this incident to bring out the truth," she added.
As per the Superintendent of Police of Mandya, Mallikarjun Baladandi, the incident took place when the Ganapati procession stopped and started dancing in front of a Dargah for five to seven minutes. Following this, the people from the other group of people came and told the procession to leave, which resulted in a word exchange but the police cleared the situation between these two groups.
This led to the group who were part of the Ganpati procession holding a protest in front of the Nagamangala station, blaming the police for not allowing them to continue with their procession. The police tried to convince the group and also allowed them to continue with their Ganesh immersion procession, SP Baladandi added.
Baladandi further said that during that time many from both sides gathered and threw stones at each other and the police had to interfere again. When the groups were returning, they set shops and bikes on fire.
As per Mandya District Collector Kumar, till now, 54 people have been arrested in this incident and probationary orders have been imposed with schools and colleges shut today.
"The present situation is under control. We have deployed sufficient force and taken all precautionary measures. We have imposed probationary orders and declared a holiday for schools and colleges today. 54 people have been arrested in this incident. We are assessing the damages," he said.