BJP MP Pratap Simha’s arrest sets off violent clashes in Mysuru district

The MP is alleged to have disobeyed police orders and rammed into a police barricade with his car, according to media reports.

news Violence

Ahead of Milad-un-Nabi on Saturday and Hanuman Jayanti on Sunday, the Karnataka police had imposed section 144 in the communally sensitive Hunsur in Mysuru district. Section 144 was imposed in the district till 6 30pm on Monday. But with the police arresting BJP MP Pratap Simha even before he could reach Hunsur for the Hanuman Jayanti celebrations on Sunday, violent clashes broke out in the district.

TOI and DC report that the young Mysuru MP from BJP, known for his aggressive speeches and statements, was stopped by the police in Bilikere when he was attempting to reach Hunsur for Hanuman Jayanthi celebrations. When the police refused to let him through, he protested. “An angry Simha questioned the cops on duty, removed the barricade and asked his driver to make way for him. Even as the cops tried to convince him, he took the wheel, stepped on the accelerator and hit the barricade,” TOI reported.

"Mysuru district administration n @ SPmysuru is all set to file a criminal case against me in Bilikere Station for pushing the barricade near KR Nagar junction!" the MP tweeted. "I don't understand why they are stopping me from attending an event. They allowed Eid-Milad celebrations on Saturday,” he told reporters before his arrest. The police have filed cases of rash driving and obstructing duty of the police, under Section 353, 332 and 229 of IPC.

Soon after, his supporters in Hunsur retaliated to police action. His supporters reportedly gathered at Manjunath Temple in Hunsur and refused to take out the procession without Simha. The police lathicharged to disperse the angry crowd and the mob retaliated by pelting stones. Shops and commercial establishments were also shuttered.

The BJP has since compared Karnataka CM Siddaramiah with Hitler. “Siddaramaiah's administration is like Hitler's. An MP has been arrested on his way to attend an event. It is the murder of the democracy," said Union minister Ananth Kumar Hegde, reports TOI.