Sec 144 in Tumakuru village after clash over offering prayers first

According to the police, the Panduranga temple has two temple committees. While one committee was associated with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the other is affiliated with the Janata Dal (Secular), police said.

The Tumakuru district administration imposed section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the Lingapura village on Tuesday after two devotees groups clashed over who gets to offer prayers at the Panduranga temple first.

The Tumakuru district administration imposed section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the Lingapura village (Representative use)

According to the police, the Panduranga temple has two temple committees. While one committee was associated with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the other is affiliated with the Janata Dal (Secular), police said.

“On Sunday, the group associated with the JD(S) came to the temple to offer prayers and take out a procession of the deity’s idol. However, the BJP-led group raised objections to this. The BJP-led group insisted they would offer Pooja and take out the procession first. The clash broke out after the first committee objected to it,” police said

Soon after hearing the news, Hebburu police rushed to the spot and convened a meeting with two groups.

“The meeting continued till 2 am on Sunday, but both groups didn’t budge. The groups were not ready to give up. Though we tried to unite two groups to celebrate the festival unitedly, they did not agree,‘’ Kyatsandra circle inspector Channe Gowda said.

According to the officer, in the past, the festival was celebrated by all villagers together.

However, around three years back, a new temple committee led by the JD (S)was formed, leading to a rift, the officer said.

“After tension eased, we withdrew the additional police force deployed in the village, and the situation is peaceful now,” he said.

As the state assembly election is nearing, the villagers who identified with political parties are creating commotion and division for political mileage, said villagers. ‘

’In 1968, a villager, Shivanna, donated a piece of land for the Shani Mahatma temple. Later, there was a dispute over the temple land. Then, villagers took away the idol and kept it in Panduranga Swamy temple. Now, these committees are fighting over the right over the idol,’’ said Channa Basappa, a villager.

A case between two groups was also pending for hearing in Tumakuru court, Basappa added.Three year back both groups filed case in court seeking order to appoint them as management committee of temple.