Bengaluru, 2 June

The BJP urged Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Tuesday to intervene and push the State Cabinet to reverse its decision to withdraw seven criminal cases linked to the 2022 communal violence in Aland, Kalaburagi district.

Speaking to reporters after submitting a memorandum to the Governor, the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, said there is Raghava Chaitanya Shivalinga inside Ladle Mashak Dargah.

“The conflict is not new, but has been going on for the past 600 years. Riots are repeatedly happening, and many people have lost their lives,” Narayanaswamy said, alleging that withdrawing cases would erode the public’s trust in the criminal justice system.

The memorandum alleged that apart from communal violence, the accused had attacked police personnel and damaged government property and police machinery.

Tensions ran high in 2023, when reports spread that a Shivling inside the dargah in Aland had been desecrated. BJP workers wanted to perform a pooja inside the dargah and attempted to enter it.