Muslim traders' carts outside temple vandalised in Karnataka's Dharwad; video viral

The temple authorities reportedly said most of the traders were Hindus and the permission was given to poor families for business.

A day before Ram Navami, a few members of the Hindu outfit Sri Ram Sene reportedly vandalised the pushcarts belonging to the Muslim traders outside the Nuggikeri Hanuman temple on the outskirts of Dharwad in Karnataka on Saturday. The video of a trader mourning the loss of his day's earnings standing near the heap of smashed watermelons has gone viral.

Watermelons strewn on the road after Hindu Sena activists reportedly vandalised the carts of Muslim traders in Karnataka's Dharwad.

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This comes as Karnataka is on the boil over a fresh controversy on barring Muslim traders from temples.

According to reports, the Hindu outfit had given a deadline to the temple authority to evict Muslim traders from the temple premises about 15 days ago. As the authorities did not evict Muslim traders according to the ultimatum, a few members of the outfit on Saturday allegedly came to the premises and vandalised the stalls of the Muslim traders.

 

The statement of Nabisab, one of the Muslim merchants giving interviews to local channels, has gone viral on social media. He said he has been running the stall for the last 15 years but no one ever directed him to vacate. The temple authorities said most of the traders on the premises are Hindus and the permission was granted to poor families for business.