Udayagiri police station incident: Police enforce prohibitory orders in Mysuru city on February 24

The Mysuru City Police have denied permission for rallies planned by different groups in connection with the Udayagiri police station incident and enforced prohibitory orders across the city on February 24.

Various organisations had proposed to take out rallies on February 24 from Gun House Circle to Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple in light of the stone-throwing incident reported outside the Udayagiri police station after a derogatory post on social media triggered unrest on February 10.

City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar has invoked provisions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Act, 2023, to ban processions, protests, vehicle rallies, shouting of slogans, gathering of more than five persons, public meetings, the use of public address system, the display of flex and banners or distribution of pamphlets, and holding any secret or indoor meetings in the city.

The communique issued by the Police Commissioner’s office noted that prohibitory orders will remain in force from midnight on February 23 to midnight on February 24.

It should be noted that the Rashtra Suraksha Janandolana planned to organise a ‘Mysuru chalo’ rally from Gun House Circle to Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple to condemn these incidents.

Meanwhile, the Dalit Mahasabha and the Mysuru District Youth Congress Committee have proposed organising a rally on the same route to raise awareness about the efforts by BJP leaders to gain political mileage by projecting the Muslim community as ‘villains’. This narrative threatens the harmonious relationship between Muslims and Hindus in the process.

The police said that the rival organisations had turned the rallies into a matter of prestige. They were making statements and counterstatements on social media, despite the police denying them permission for their events.

Also, the three organisations have planned to hold large rallies along the same route at the same time, specifically when vehicular traffic is high and when people from different religions, as well as tourists, are present. There is also a possibility that prominent political and religious leaders will deliver inflammatory speeches and people from many parts of the city and district will participate in the rallies and shout slogans.

Hence, any programme about the February 10 incident that threatens public peace, communal harmony, and public interest has been banned, the police said.