Karnataka remains peaceful post-Ayodhya verdict
Bengaluru: Karnataka state witnessed no untoward incident on Saturday, post Supreme Court’s landmark verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute, said a police official.
“No violence or any sort of untoward incident occurred in Karnataka or Bengaluru. Absolutely peaceful,” Karnataka Additional Director General of Police Amar Kumar Pandey told IANS.
Neither violence nor any rally of any sort was reported from across the state or in Bengaluru following the verdict on the decades-long dispute, Pandey said.
Interestingly, the top police official confirmed that no party erupted in joy with pyrotechnics or sweets distribution in the light of the Supreme Court decision.
Earlier in the day, a five-member Constitutional bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, delivered the judgement in New Delhi, directing the central government to hand over the disputed land to the Hindus for building a Ram temple by a state-run trust.
Pandey said the decision to extend 144 section throughout the state will lie with the district police chiefs and local magistrates taking a call on the local conditions.
Similarly, liquor ban decision across the state will also be taken by local district authorities, factoring in the prevailing situation, added Pandey.
Aiming at thwarting any untoward incident on Friday after the Supreme Court verdict, security has been tightened across the city and state.
All Bengaluru schools and colleges were shut and a ban order under section 144 of the CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) was in force from 7:00 a.m. to be continued till midnight on Saturday to prevent assembling of more than five persons in public places.
Bengaluru police deployed 15,000 policemen and women with additional 50 platoons of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), 30 platoons of the City Armed Police (CAR) and 20 platoons of home guards were roped in to be deployed in sensitive areas.
Despite the heightened security, life was normal in Bengaluru like any Saturday.
