Tension prevailed in Peeranwadi village near Belagavi on Saturday over a long pending dispute between two groups over the installation of a statue of Sangolli Rayanna.
Additional police forces were deployed in the village. Commissioner of Police K. Thiyagarajan said the situation was peaceful.
The disturbance was caused by members of the Sangolli Rayanna Youth Association who went on strike demanding installation of the statue in the village square. They alleged that the police and revenue officials had stopped them from erecting it.
They sat on dharna at the panchayat office for some time demanding immediate action. Some of them also argued that August 15 was the birth anniversary of Rayanna and that they had a right to honour him with a statue on his birthday.
They alleged that the Maratha Youth Association opposed the installationand demanded action against its members.
However, the police said that the Sangolli Rayanna Association had not taken permission for the installation. The youth had not informed the villagers. A few of them went at night and tried to install the statue. Also, the site they chose for the statue is by the side of the national highway. This is outlawed by the Supreme court. Due to all these reasons, the statue was removed, Mr.Thiyagarajan told The Hindu.
District in-charge Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi defended the official action. “I support the intention of the Sangolli Rayanna Association. I will request them, however, that we all do it together, as per existing laws,” he told journalists at the district stadium.
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