The defiling of the statue of Sangolli Rayanna — who became an icon of resistance for his armed struggle against the British — near Kempegowda Bus Station here set off protests on Saturday.
Cottonpete police, who have filed a case, said unidentified persons attempted to steal the sword from the bronze statue of the medieval chieftain on Friday night.
They failed to detach the sword, but severely bent it downwards instead.
On learning about the defiling, a large number of protesters — from regional linguistic groups such as Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha (KCVP) and Jai Karnataka, and associations of Kurubas, the caste to which Rayanna belonged — descended at the circle demanding immediate police action. The scene remained tense as the police attempted to pacify the crowd.
“If the police do not arrest the perpetrators within 24 hours, we will call for a Bengaluru bandh,” said Vatal Nagaraj of the KCVP, who blamed the lack of CCTV cameras in the area for the attempted theft.
The crowd dispersed only after Home Minister K.J. George and city Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi arrived at the spot. “This is a condemnable act. I have directed the police to conduct a probe and arrest the culprits immediately,” said Mr. George.
Protests staged demanding arrest
of the culprits
