Bengaluru, Feb 21 (IANS): The Rashtra Suraksha Jan Andolan Samiti and the BJP will organise a massive convention in Mysuru on February 24 to protest against the alleged inaction by the Karnataka government in the Udayagiri police station attack case.

As many as 17 people, including an Islamic religious teacher, who delivered the hate speech provoking the mob to attack the Udayagiri police station have been arrested in the case till now.

Former Minister and senior BJP leader, N. Mahesh, speaking to IANS, said, "The convention on February 24, organised by the Rashtra Suraksha Jan Andolana Samiti in Mysuru, aims to condemn the attack on the Udayagiri police station over a social media post.

“An FIR was filed against 1,000 individuals, yet only 16 to 18 people have been arrested so far. How is this acceptable?”

Reacting to the development, Home Minister G. Parameshwara stated in Bengaluru on Friday that the arrests were made based on CCTV footage.

"A few people were arrested within the first two days. The Maulvi who instigated the attack was arrested on Thursday," HM Parameshwara said.

When asked about the BJP condemning the arrests as superficial, HM Parameshwara responded, "Let them do it. They are politicising everything, and in this case too, they are doing the same. As long as they are in the Opposition, they will continue protesting."

N. Mahesh told IANS, “We will urge the government to uphold law and order and ensure effective policing to maintain peace. I will be participating, along with state BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Yaduveer Wadiyar, former BJP MP Pratap Simha, and others."

He further emphasised that the police and judiciary must punish the guilty.

"If a mob demands that a person be handed over to them, it is unconstitutional, and such developments are a worrying sign. This convention is being held to wake up the Congress-led government to the challenges of ensuring security. It will be a peaceful event," Mahesh added.

“We will also appreciate the police for containing the rioting mob and restoring normalcy,” he underlined.

The incident was a result of an objectionable social media post.

The accused Satish aka Panduranga, a resident of Kalyannagar in Mysuru, had put up a post ridiculing Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, former Chief Ministers Akhilesh Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal. The accused further made provocative communal statements against a particular religious group and the post went viral on social media.

A group belonging to the minority community gathered in front of the Udayagiri Police Station demanding action against the accused person.

Although the police tried to pacify the crowd and even roped in religious leaders who requested them to calm down, the situation turned violent and the crowd started pelting stones on the police station. The mob also attacked the official vehicle of the DCP.

They raised slogans and when the situation went out of control, the police resorted to lathi-charge and fired tear gas to quell the rioting mob.