A local Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader was killed and over 30 Hindutva supporters injured during a protest against Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Madikeri, Kodagu district, Karnataka, on Tuesday.
The Karnataka Police resorted to a lathicharge after Hindutva activists clashed with a Muslim group celebrating Tipu Jayanti. The protesters pelted stones and set buses on fire in Madikeri on Tuesday, reports said.
The 50-year-old VHP Kodagu secretary was critically injured in the clash and declared dead on arrival at the local hopital, as per reports.
However, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dismissed rumours that the VHP leader's death was caused by lathicharge.
Karnataka DG & IGP Om Prakash said that Kuttappa fell from a 15 feet high compound wall of the hospital.
The government has sent extra forces to the high-tension areas, Home Minister G Parameshwara told CNN IBN.
The saffron outfits are against the celebration of Tipu Sultan's birth anniversary organised by the state government, claiming that he was an anti-Hindu ruler.
The Karnataka wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party had earlier said it would boycott the birth anniversary celebrations of Tipu Sultan.
