The Dakshina Kannada police have registered a case against a school for hurting religious sentiments by making the students enact the demolition of Ayodhya's Babri Masjid.
The incident took place at Sri Rama Vidya Kendra at Kalladka, nearly 30 km away from Mangaluru. The students showcased a play recreating the events happened during the Ram Janmabhoomi conflict and perform it during the annual day celebration.
Several videos of the function were widely shared on social media showing the students wearing white shirts, white pants and others in white shirts and saffron dhotis were seen re-enacting the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid conflict, while the saffron-clad students were shouting "Bolo Shri Ramachandra ki, Jai!"
According to the reports, the school is owned by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat. He is an executive committee member of the party's south-central region who runs the school under Vivekananda Vidhyavardhaka Sanga Trust.
The Bantwal police booked the school authorities including members of the governing body - Narayana Somayaji, Vasantha Madhava, Chennappa Kotyan and the owner of the institution Prabhakar Bhat on Monday (December 17). This was based on a complaint filed by Aboobacker Siddique, a member of Popular Front of India (PFI).
Babri Masjid not a mosque but building, claims Prabhakar Bhat
Bhat said that there is nothing wrong in showcasing a play that is based on a historical event. He said that Babri Masjid is not a mosque but a building. "It is a historical event that we are depicting. We have depicted Jallianwala Bagh as well. Did anyone highlight that? There are hundreds of instances like this and we have to show the injustices that have happened in our country," he said, reported The News Minute.
The case has been filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 295 (a) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 298 (uttering, words, etc, with deliberate intent to wound the religious feeling of any person).
Who attended the event
Other dignitaries including Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, DV Sadananda Gowda, Puducherry Governor Kiran Bedi and several other ministers from Karnataka including H Nagesh and Sashikala Jolle were present at the function.
