Acting upon a report submitted by the Superintendent of Police, Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Ballari Pavan Kumar Malapati has issued an order banning the traditional Muharram festival in 22 villages that fall under the limits of seven police stations for maintaining peace, law and order.
As per the order issued on Tuesday, made available to the press on Wednesday, Muharram festivities are banned in K. Sugur, Mudenur, Hirehal, Nadanga, Bandral, Deshanur and K. Belagal villages in Siruguppa police limits; Tekkalakote, Halekote, Upparahosalli, Udegol and Araliganur villages in Tekkalakote police limits, Sirigeri, Kuriganur, Talur and Karur in Sirigeri police limits; Kolagallu, Mincheri and Sanjeevarayanakote villages in Ballari rural police limits; D Anthapur in Toranagallu police limits; Gonal (No 15) in Kampli police limits and Mahanandikottam (inside and main road of Talur Kannada Nagara) in Gandhinagar police limits.
The order has made it clear that people are prohibited from carrying arms, cudgels, swords, spears, bludgeons, guns, knives, sticks or lathis or any other article which is capable of being used for causing physical violence as provided by Section 35(a) of the Karnataka Police Act 1963.
The carrying of any corrosive substance or of explosives as provided by Section 35(b) of the Act, the exhibition of persons or corpses or figures or effigies thereof as provided by Section 35(d) of the Act and public utterances of cries, singing of songs, playing of music, delivery of harangues, the use of gestures or mimetic representations and the preparation, exhibition or dissemination of pictures, symbols, placards or any other object or thing, which may offend decency or morality or affect public order or undermine security or incite the commission of an offence as provided under the Section 35(e) of the Act have been prohibited.
In the preamble to the order, the Deputy Commissioner has referred to the recommendations made by the Superintendent of Police to completely ban the festivities in places/ villages listed in the report and thought it fit to accept and implement the recommendations.
