In a communal violence that broke on 6th July 2022 in the Kerur Taluka of Bagalkot district in Karnataka, four Hindus were stabbed and many others were injured. The incident took place after Hindus tried to lodge a complaint against a woman doctor over her Facebook post against former Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma and her remarks on Prophet Muhammad.
According to a report by Free Press Journal three men, all residents of kerur town, named Lakshman Kattimani, Arun Kattimani, and Yamanur Chungin, were stabbed in this incident. Another one named Bande Gokak survived a head injury. All of them are admitted to the hospital and all of them are members of a local Hindu organization.
As the two groups battled, some of them set fire to many stores, two-wheelers, and fruit and vegetable stalls..
Deputy Commissioner Sunil Kumar said, “The CrPC Section 144 will be clamped for two days beginning from midnight of July 6. Schools and colleges have been ordered to be closed in Kerur town on Thursday. The situation is under control and police are probing the incident.”
The police have arrested 10 people in this case so far. Karnataka chief minister Basavraj Bommai said, “Kerur incident happened due to personal issues. Police have already controlled the situation & some arrests are done; injured are admitted to hospitals. We’ve given instructions to both communities to maintain peace. Our senior officials, DC are present on the spot.” The police are doing further investigations.
Over the last few weeks, there have been repeated incidents of violence in the country in connection with former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s allegedly insulting remarks against the Prophet Muhammad. In Udaipur, a Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal was beheaded by Islamists on June 28 for a social media post supporting Nupur Sharma. In a similar incident that took place in Amravati, a Hindu chemist Umesh Kolhe was beheaded by Islamists for supporting Nupur Sharma in one of her social media posts.