Tension prevails in Kodagu after auto is torched in Sunticoppa

Madikeri: A day after the district nearly shut down completely on the occasion of

Tipu Jayanti

, tension continued to prevail in the hilly district of

Kodagu

on Sunday after miscreants torched an

auto

in

Sunticoppa

town. Incensed by the incident, residents of Sunticoppa staged a protest and warned of calling for a bandh in the district if police failed to act against the miscreants. Meanwhile, security continued to remain tight across Kodagu on Sunday.

Police said that an auto owned by a Sunticoppa resident Shivamani was set ablaze in the wee hours of Sunday.

“Shivamani, a resident of Madapur Road parked his auto close to his home. Around 3am, his family members realised something was amiss when they started to smell something burning. On waking up, they found that the auto was set on fire. Their efforts to put out the fire were to no avail, and the vehicle was destroyed completely,” police said.

News of the incident spread across the town, and members of various organisations including autodriver unions staged a flash protest on the Mysuru-Madikeri Road. The road was blocked in the morning near the Kannada Circle. The protest was led by BJP’s Kodagu district unit president BB Bharatish and local zilla panchayat member PM Lateef.

Bharateesh said that a similar incident had occurred three months ago, when an auto owned by Anil Prakash had been torched. “Both Prakash and Shivamani are active members of the Sangh Parivar. Prakash’s auto was set ablaze on a night when a protest was held against Marijuana peddlers. Shivamani had participated in a puja organised by

pro-Hindu

organisations in memory of Kuttappa, who was killed in riots that occurred during the 2015 Tipu Jayanti celebrations,” he added.

It was Shivamani’s involvement with a pro-Hindu organisation that has lent the incident a communal hue. However, police managed to ensure the situation did not get out of control by initiating a probe into the incident.

Kodagu superintendent of police Sumana D Pannekara, however, told TOI that the incident had nothing to do with Tipu Jayanti. “We have already started a probe into the incident,” she said, adding that security would remain tight across the district, and cops would closely monitor vehicular movement.

Simha lauds HDK, Parameshwara

Meanwhile, in Mysuru, MP Pratap Simha expressed his appreciation for chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and deputy CM G Parameshwara for staying away from the Tipu Jayanti celebrations.

Dubbing Tipu Sultan ‘anti-Hindu’, Simha said, “He was an anti-Kannada warrior. By abstaining from the birth anniversary celebrations of Tipu Sultan, the Cm and deputy CM have done a good job.

Simha, however, took a swipe at former CM and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah, for continuing to insist on Tipu Jayanti celebrations despite people across the state opposing it.