Saffron flag put up on mosque in Karnataka's Bidar; case filed: Police

According to police officers, the incident occurred in Dhannur and came to light at 7 am on Friday when a resident, Ismail, went to the mosque to offer Namaz.

Bengaluru: Unidentified individuals placed a saffron flag on top of a mosque in Basavakalyana taluk of Bidar district late on September 21, officers said.

Police have registered a case under section 295 (defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion) of the Indian Penal Code and are searching for the unidentified individuals.

According to police officers, the incident occurred in Dhannur and came to light at 7 am on Friday when a resident, Ismail, went to the mosque to offer Namaz. He alerted others and filed a complaint at the Basavakalyana rural police station.

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Police officers said that the unidentified individuals tried to disturb peace by hoisting the saffron flag on top of the mosque. They tied the flag to a stick and placed it on one of the minars of the mosque. The incident enraged the Muslim community, but the police swung into action and removed the flag, while assuring the community of arrest of the miscreants soon, officers said.

“Hindus and Muslims are living peacefully in the village for decades but few people are trying to disrupt communal peace by hoisting the flag,” Mohammed Faizal, a villager told reporters. “We celebrate festivals of both the communities together. Such incident hurts the religious sentiments. The community elders appealed to the people to maintain peace and the police promised to take action against accused,” he added.

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“Soon after receiving the news, we rushed to the village and took the community into confidence,” Basavakalyana rural police inspector Vasantha Patil said. He said the police have registered a case under section 295 (defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion) of the Indian Penal Code and are searching for the unidentified individuals.

“We are collecting CCTV footage of nearby areas and mobile tower locations for information,” he said.

Meanwhile, deputy SP J S Nyamegowda conducted a peace meeting in the village between the two communities and promised stringent action against accused.