The police in Ballari district of Karnataka arrested four men on Sunday for allegedly throwing slippers at a mosque in Siruguppa city during a Ganesh festival procession on September 10, reported The Indian Express.
Police officials had witnessed the incident at the procession on Saturday, but could not identify who had thrown the slippers. However, the four men were arrested after a video of the incident went viral on social media.
The four accused persons have been identified as Nitesh Kumar, Bhimanna, Ashok and Anjeneyalu, Ballari Superintendent of Police Saidulu Adavath told The New Indian Express.
“Based on the video footage, Siruguppa Town Police immediately arrested four youths,” Adavath said. “The situation is completely under control and we are keeping an eye on social media posts. If any violence and communal clash-related posts are shared on social media, we will take strict action.”
Karnataka Additional Director General of Police Alok Kumar also wrote in a tweet that appropriate legal action will be taken against the arrested men.
In another incident in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district on September 10, devotees in a Ganesh Chaturthi procession played a communally inciteful song while passing by the Gulbarga Mehbus mosque.
The video shows a large gathering of crowd dancing and cheering to as song that encouraged violence. After the video was widely circulated on social media, Karnataka Police filed a first information report against the organisers as well as the disc jockey playing songs at the procession, reported The News Minute.
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