Mangaluru coast recruitment ground for communal forces

Bengaluru: With an increase in communal violence and moral policing incidents, Mangaluru has become the testing ground for two major political parties – Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – in the forthcoming Assembly elections. But for the Popular Front of India (PFI), Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), BajrangDal (BD) and Hindu Jagran Vedike (HJV), communal unrest and the killings are ‘recruitment’ drives of the infantry in the extremely polarised camps of the tworeligious communities.

“Karnataka’s coastline has always been polarised, but of late, a lot of unemployed youth are joining these organisations, more in search of an extremist religious identity. They prey upon members of the other community to prove their calibre and intent to their recruiters, who assign them with hardened crimes once they sharpen their skills. The new recruits are provided with training in handling weapons, organisational protection and free legal assistance in case they are arrested and monetary and other support to their families if they are killed. It is alarming to see the extent of their motivation,” said an official source.

“PFI is an old, well-layered and cadre-based organisation with sound monetary, logistic and manpower support from their patrons in Kerala and outside the country. The fund and manpower flow may have increased in the recent past. It has very a strong political wing at the grassroots level. Their agenda is to gain political legitimacy in South India. BD and HJV are also equally motivated and organised Right wing outfits with a lot of support from fringe Hindutva groups,” he said.

Even inside the prisons there’s danger of communal violence. Sources told this newspaper that it is difficult and dangerous to lodge convicts of either camp in Mangaluru Central prison and undertrial prisoners in Bantwal sub-jail. “Prison officers have to keep a very close watch on the convicts and UTs in these prisons. Bantwal prison is a bigger problem. The undertrial prisoners here cannot be transferred to another prison, because they have to appear before the jurisdictional court where their case is registered,” said a prison officer.

“There are socio-economic and political reasons behind the growing fundamentalism in Karnataka’s coastal belt. The law enforcement agencies should have their ears to the ground and keep a close watch on any untoward movement,” said former IPS officer Gopal Hosur.