india

Updated: Aug 23, 2014 21:31 IST

Karnataka Police have registered a case against alleged BJP and Hindu Jagarana Vedike activists who burst crackers to "celebrate" the death of famed writer UR Ananthamurthy.

A case was registered by the Mudigere police in Chikmangalur on Saturday against unidentified BJP and Hindu Jagarana Vedike activists under sections of the IPC relating to rioting, causing public nuisance and forming an unlawful assembly. Police sources said that they have footage and photographs of the incident and hope to nab the culprits soon.

The miscreants burst crackers at four places in Mangalore and one spot in Chikmangalur soon after the news of Ananthamurthy's death was announced on Friday evening. Ananthamurthy who was known for his strong anti-BJP views had raised a storm during the Lok Sabha elections by saying he would leave the country if Modi became PM.

This happened even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to convey his condolences minutes after the death of the Jnanpith and Padma award winning author

Activists of the Youth Congress and various Left parties held a protest in Chikmangalur town to condemn the actions of the Hindutva activists.

Mangalore police commissioner R Hitendra said, "We have registered a case in one incident against unidentified persons."

In Mangalore, over a dozen organisations, including the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti and the Democratic Youth Federation of India, have decided to picket the Deputy Commissioner's office demanding that the police take cognisance of the other three cases as well. In a release to the media, the organisers of the protest said that there was enough video footage and photos to identify the miscreants.

"The actions of the Hindutva activists were clearly aimed at creating communal discord and disaffection toward a celebrated national icon," DYFI president Muneer Katipalla told HT.

Sharan Pumpwell, Bajrang Dal state president, told HT, "The celebrations were not organised by us. Some of our sympathisers might have been carried away. As far as our differences with Ananthamurthy are concerned, they were intellectual, not personal."

BJP state president Prahlad Joshi refused to react to the incident.