The murder of a 26-year-old Bajrang Dal activist in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district brought the city to a boil with large scale protests erupting on 22 February, followed by demonstrations across the state.
The deceased man, known as Harsha Hindu, was reportedly stabbed by a group of five assailants on 21 February in Shivamogga, which is about 250 kms away from Bengaluru.
This incident comes at an especially charged up moment in the state with several districts witnessing hijab vs saffron shawl protests. In this little town too, 58 students were suspended from a local college just recently for demanding to be allowed to attend classes.
Expectedly, the incident soon turned into a political slugfest, with BJP leader Kapil Mishra calling this a new form of jihad and Goa CM Pramod Sawant blaming “anti-Hindu fundamentalists”.