Almost a week after the mysterious death of 21-year-old Paresh Mesta in Honnavar in Uttara Kannada district, fear grips the coastal district as communal passions are soaring high and violent protests are spreading from Honnavar to Kumta and Sirsi towns. Even as these towns are on the boil, and peace and safety have become the first casualty, the political blamegame by both the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP has raised suspicion that both parties are hoping to cash in on the polarisation in the upcoming assembly election in the state.
Paresh Mesta
Protest marches, stone pelting and arson, despite the prohibitory orders, have compelled the police to use teargas shells, lathicharge and firing in the air to disperse the mob. On Thursday, the mobs set ablaze the Western IGP Hemant Nimbalkar's vehicle.
The trigger for the communal clash was an altercation that followed a minor road accident last Wednesday. But two days later, the situation became tense after the locals found the blackened body of Mesta, who had gone missing after Wednesday’s clashes, floating in a lake near the Shani temple.
The incident has set off outrage across the state, and protests in the coastal belt with the Sangh Parivar and the BJP alleging foul play. The social media was abuzz with horrifying details of alleged torture and mutilation of Mesta's body. The BJP, too, raised questions over the exact cause of death and sought explanation from the government to the bad state in which the body was recovered.
The local police suspected Paresh might have fallen into the lake and drowned while escaping from the mob. However, Paresh's father Kamalakar and relatives suspected foul play, and said Paresh could not have drowned as he was an expert swimmer.
“Paresh was at the Shani temple which was being attacked. Despite prohibitory orders, stones and shoes were hurled at the temple. CCTV footage shows uniformed police personnel standing still when the mob armed with weapons came to the temple,” claimed BJP MP from Udupi-Chikmaglur Shobha Karandlaje.
Interestingly, on Monday evening, the state government came up with the autopsy report of Mesta and also a questionnaire (with answers) revealing a few details on the nature of injury. IGP Western Range Hemant Nimbalkar, who released a questionnaire along with replies by Dr Shankar M. Bakkannavar, associate professor, department of forensic medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, categorically denied that any assault or torture had taken place.
However, protests led by pro-Hindu organisations turned violent the following day, as they rejected the report and demanded to know why the government was in a hurry to prove it was not a murder, especially when the postmortem report was still pending.
In his report, Dr Bakkannavar has stated there was no external or internal injury, no torture and no strangulation or haemorrhage, except for two injuries caused by blunt force and there are no evidences of injuries caused by weapons, too. The blackening of the face is due to putrefaction (decay) while the tattoo mark on right forearm depicting Shivaji and “Maratha” written in Hindi was intact, he added.
The report has ruled out torture by use of hot water or any chemical and castration, as alleged by BJP leaders. However, a crucial observation that a blackish semi-solid material was found in Paresh's oral cavity, trachea and lungs, strongly hints at the possibility of a homicide, argue some experts.
On Tuesday, senior BJP leaders led by BJP MP Shobha Karadlaje took out a protest rally in the state capital and submitted a memorandum to Governor Vajubhai Vala seeking an NIA probe. The BJP alleged that the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka was “going soft” on SDPI and PFI, which are guilty of killing pro-Hindu activists in the state.
Home Minister R. Ramalinga Reddy said specific questions had been answered by the doctors to dispel the lies being circulated on social media. He also warned of strict action against rumour mongering.
“The postmortem report will take 15 days and to dispel lies being circulated by the BJP and the social media, we decided to get specific answers to a set of 19 questions from the doctors who conducted the autopsy. This is to counter the BP which released graphic details of how Mesta was killed. They also highlighted that the deceased belongs to Mogaveera (fishermen) community and falsely claimed that the tattoo on his hand was ripped off (as it had “Hey Ram”). This proves BJP is playing politics and trying to polarise the votes in an election year. Why do they call themselves Hindu and not by the name of their organisation like BJP or Sri Rama Sene? Are we Congressmen not Hindus? We are well prepared to maintain law and order in the state,” said Reddy.
Accusing the BJP of playing the communal card in an election year, Reddy said, “First they created ruckus in Hunsur last week during Hanuma Jayanti, which coincided with Eid celebrations. But all 174 taluks celebrated the Jayanti peacefully, expect Hunsur. Now, the BJP is disturbing peace in Uttara Kannada. They have got instructions from their national president (Amit Shah) to disturb peace. This was admitted by Mysuru MP Pratap Simha and senior leader Eshwarappa on the social media,” mocked Reddy, making references to the videos of Simha and Eshwarappa, where the leaders are seen exhorting partymen to go aggressive in an election year. The videos have gone viral.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dubbed the incident as another “mischief” of the Sangh Parivar, even as the BJP accused Siddaramaiah of “minority appeasement”. “Siddaramaiah is responsible for the clashes. He has emboldened Jihadi elements by supporting SDPI and PFI in the state,” said BJP leader C.T. Ravi.
JD(S) state president H.D. Kumaraswamy blamed the national parties of playing politics and demanded that peace be restored in the state.
