Communal tension grips Maddur

Maddur town in Karnataka was gripped by communal tension after a saffron flag hoisted outside the office of Vishwa Hindu Parishat (VHP) was found burnt yesterday.

The VHP activists, who had hoisted the flag after the Virata Hindu Samavesha on Sunday, took out a protest march through the streets of Maddur town to protest the act. The marchers indulged in widespread stone pelting, leading to communal unrest in the town.

The agitation by VHP activists overshadowed the shutdown called by pro-Kannada organizations against the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal’s final order.
Police reinforcements were rushed to the troubled town to prevent the situation from going out of hand. Elected representatives and police held talks with leaders of the two communities to restore peace. Police promised to bring the culprits behind the burning of the saffron flag to book soon and imposed prohibitory orders in the town for the next three days.