FIR filed against VHP Activists for placing flags at Navaratri fair in Mangaluru

Mangaluru: An FIR has been filed against Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) regional joint secretary, Sharan Pumpwell, and fellow VHP activists for placing saffron flags selectively on stalls owned by Hindu traders at the Navaratri festival fair near Sri Mangaladevi temple in Mangaluru.

As per a press statement from the city police commissioner, on October 16, Sharan Pumpwell, along with his supporters, placed saffron flags on stalls owned by members of the Hindu community in the proximity of Sri Mangaladevi Temple. Additionally, he delivered a press statement, encouraging Hindus to patronize businesses owned and operated by members of their community for their essential purchases.
The commissioner stated that this action and statement have the potential to incite religious discord. As per the complaint filed by PSI (L&O) Manohar Prasad of Mangaluru South Police Station, a case has been registered against Sharan Pumpwell and others at the same station.

For the last few years, the VHP has vehemently opposed the inclusion of Hindu-owned stalls during temple fairs. Meanwhile members of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District Jatra Vyaparastara Samanvaya Samiti urged district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao to take swift action against Sharan Pumpwell, citing concerns about potential communal tensions arising from such actions.