Udupi: Police-devotees clash During Religious Festival

Udupi: A violent altercation took place at the Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt on the night of December 29, during a religious procession, leading to the assault of a police officer on duty.

Ravindra, a constable with the Udupi Armed Reserve Police, has been serving at the Mutt for nearly a year in a security role. On the evening of the incident, he was performing duties as both a Public Relations Officer (PRO) and part of the security personnel managing the crowd.

At around 9:00 PM, heavy crowding both inside and outside the Mutt resulted in a scuffle. Around 9:15 PM, a group of seven to eight Ayyappa devotees, dressed in black, created a disturbance while attempting to view Lord Krishna. The group became aggressive when the procession carrying the idol of Lord Krishna was about to enter the Mutt. The devotees attacked Jagadeesh, a staff member at the Mutt, physically lifting him and trying to drag him into the temple’s sanctum.

The Diwan of the Mutt, Nagaraj, intervened in an attempt to stop the Ayyappa devotees, but the situation escalated as the group turned violent, attempting to attack him as well.

Constable Ravindra, who was on duty, attempted to de-escalate the situation by urging the devotees to stop the violence. However, the group, identified as Shivkumar, Vishal, Raju, Naveen Raj, Ravikiran, Bhanu, Umeander, and Ravikanth, proceeded to assault him. Ravindra was struck in the face, neck, and shoulders, suffering injuries to the left side of his nose, which caused bleeding.

A case has been filed at the Udupi City Police Station under Crime No. 231/2024, with charges including sections 115(2), 121(1), 132, 189(2), 190, and 191(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita.

According to the police, they are also verifying the video footage of the incident and will thoroughly investigate on the incident

The police have launched an investigation into the incident.