Hubballi violence: Karnataka Police launch manhunt for Maulvi Waseem

Maulvi Waseem went missing after finding out that the police are after him

April 19, 2022

Tension prevailed in Hubbali after Muslim mob turned violent at police station

The Karnataka Police said on Tuesday that they have launched a hunt for the Maulvi for delivering hate speech and instigating a mob to indulge in large-scale violence after an objectionable post appeared on social media. Maulvi Waseem went missing after finding out that the police are after him.

According to police, Waseem addressed an agitated mob, which had gathered to protest against the post. After his inflammatory speech, large-scale violence happened in Hubballi. The police have collected the video of the hate speech and that video shows the accused Maulvi standing on a vehicle of the police commissioner and delivering his speech, police said.

Police said that instigated by his speech, the mob started pelting stones and damaging vehicles. The police have arrested more than 120 persons in connection with the violence. Many accused have disappeared fearing arrest by the police. The eight special teams formed to nab the accused have continued their operations.

Once considered the cultural capital of the state, the town of Hubballi in North Karnataka remains tense after incidents of violent protests by the Muslim community were seen following a politically aggressive post by 20-year-old student Abhishek Hiremath.

The violence flared up when the mob gathered at the Old Hubballi police station and began to damage police vehicles late at night, even injuring a few policemen. A section of the mob reportedly also pelted stones at a hospital and a temple situated near the police station.

The 4th JMFC court had remanded 88 accused persons and the youth who had put out the objectionable post to judicial custody till April 30. Police sources said that among the total 48 CCTV cameras installed for monitoring in Hubballi city only 21 were working and seven cameras were missing. The investigation has suffered a setback due to this fact in identifying miscreants.

The volatile situation was brought under control after the police imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) which prohibits gatherings of more than four people. Prohibitory orders will continue till April 20 in the city. The city will also continue to have heavy police protection.

[With Inputs from IANS]

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