Haveri, 30 June

Eight people were injured in a clash triggered by a quarrel over the bursting of crackers during a bull procession organised as part of the Kara Hunnime festival in Haveri district, police said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred at Naregal village in Hangal taluk on Monday, they said.

Following the clash, tension prevailed in the village for some time before police brought the situation under control, officials said.

Kara Hunnime is a traditional agricultural festival celebrated mainly in North Karnataka on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Jyeshtha.

Additional police personnel have been deployed. Officials said the incident began as a quarrel between two individuals before escalating into a clash and denied any communal angle.

According to police, bull calves decorated for the Kara Hunnime festival were being taken out in a procession when crackers were burst near a mosque, leading to an argument between two individuals.

The verbal altercation soon escalated into a physical fight, during which sharp weapons were allegedly used, leaving eight people injured.

The injured are undergoing treatment at a hospital.

"We have registered a case in connection with the clash, and the situation is under control," a senior police officer said.

Police said CCTV footage from cameras installed in the area, along with mobile phone videos, is being collected to establish the exact sequence of events.

Speaking to reporters, Home Minister Priyank Kharge said the incident occurred when a procession was passing in front of a mosque, and two groups of youngsters clashed.

"Those injured are receiving medical treatment. After that, we will investigate exactly what happened," he added.

Taking to social media platform X, senior BJP leader R Ashoka alleged that ever since the Congress government came to power, people in Karnataka have increasingly been asking why Hindu festivals and traditions are repeatedly being targeted.

He criticised Home Minister Priyank Kharge, urging him to "open his eyes" and see where the government's "politics of appeasement" has led the state. Ashoka alleged that even Kara Hunnime, a festival that is part of Karnataka's agrarian tradition, had come under attack.

Condemning the incident, the Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly said that, according to long-standing tradition, farmers burst firecrackers while taking out their decorated bulls during Kara Hunnime.

"It is alleged that, for this reason alone, religious extremists brutally attacked the farmers," Ashoka said.

He claimed the incident reflected the deterioration of law and order in the state.

Ashoka urged Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to ensure the immediate arrest of all those involved in the Naregal village incident, initiate strict legal action against them, and send a clear message that such incidents would not be tolerated.

He urged the government to bear the medical expenses of the injured farmers.

Haveri MP and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai termed the incident "highly deplorable."

"It was an attempt to disturb communal harmony, and the deliberate assault on youths participating in the bull procession is strongly condemnable," he alleged.

The BJP MP accused the police department of functioning as a tool in the hands of leaders who were provoking such incidents, alleging that the district Superintendent of Police had failed to control the situation.

He urged the authorities to take the strictest possible action against those responsible and send them to jail.

"The injured should be provided with proper medical treatment, and the government should extend compensation to them," Bommai said, while also demanding the immediate transfer of the police officials concerned.

"I appeal to the Home Minister and senior police officials to take prompt action," he added.