In Kukke, devotees and matha loyalists clash, video goes viral

Mangaluru: Devotees of Kukke Sri Subrahmanya Temple and supporters of Sri Samputa Narasimha Swami Matha clashed on the streets on Wednesday evening with a video of the clash between supporters of the matha and temple going viral on  social media. 

Kukke  Sri Subramanya temple and Sri Samputa Narasimha Matha are both situated in the same premises at Kukke village and the two groups of devotees and matha supporters have been at loggerheads on various issues. Recently, the rift worsened with a group of temple devotees complaining to the Endowment Commission that the matha is trying to pose as a branch of Kukke temple and wanted the matha to stop organising Ashlesha Bali, Naga Pratiste and Sarpa Samskara which are the main sevas of the temple. 

This was opposed by supporters of the matha. Activist Chaitra Kundapur during a meeting last month had delivered a speech at the matha with temple supporters alleging that she had spoken in a demeaning manner against the temple administration. The feud between devotees of the matha and temple has been continuing in social media since then.

According to sources, Chaitra Kundapur visited Kukke village on Wednesday evening as she was allegedly challenged by her opponents at Kukke. She along with her supporters had an argument with the temple supporters led by Guruprasad Panja near Kashikatte. The heated argument finally resulted in a clash between the two groups. 

The video clipping which has gone viral, shows the argument and the clash between the two groups.