Village tense over insult to Ambedkar

MYSURU: Tension gripped Hosur village of Nanjangud taluk after miscreants disfigured picture of Ambedkar on a signboard in the village.Enraged dalits staged a dharna and demanded action against the culprits for hurting sentiments of the community. As the news spread like wildfire, the police rushed to the spot and detained a few people. Earlier, dalits and others had clashed over a drainage issue in which four people were injured.

The dalits alleged after the incident on Monday night, some miscreants threw cow dung on the picture of Ambedkar on the signboard of Ambedkar Yuvakara Sangha.Following the protest, security has been beefed up in the village. Tahsildar Dayanand, circle inspector Gopal Krishna and other officials rushed to the village and promised action against the miscreants. They said miscreants defaced Ambedkar’s portrait here after it was reported in Hemaragala and Aginavalu villages. They said authorities’ failure to act tough has helped miscreants to create tension in villages.

Meanwhile, sources said Congress leaders are holding talks to defuse tension as such altercations would spell doom for the party in the run-up to polls. They have also decided not to give scope for opposition parties to take advantage of the situation. A complaint has been registered at Nanjangud rural police station.