Violent clash between BJP-Congress supporters: One killed, altercation over Valmiki's banner in Bellary, FIR against 11 including BJP MLA

A clash broke out between BJP and Congress supporters in Karnataka's Bellary on Thursday over the tearing of a Valmiki banner. One person was killed during the violent clash between the two groups. The clash broke out between supporters of BJP MLA Janardhan Reddy and Congress MLA Bharat Reddy, who were putting up posters and banners ahead of the unveiling of the Valmiki statue in the city on January 3. Bharat Reddy's supporters were trying to put up a banner in front of Janardhana Reddy's house in the Ambhavi area, which Reddy's supporters protested. This led to a heated scuffle between the two groups. Stones were pelted between the two sides, stones were also pelted at the policemen. Lathicharge was resorted to and firing in the air to disperse the crowd. On Friday, the police registered an FIR at the Bruspet police station against 11 people, including BJP MLA Janardhana Reddy, former minister Sriramulu, Shekhar, Ali Khan and Somashekhar Reddy. 3 Pictures of the Incident... Ballari Ranjith Kumar Bandaru said that the riots broke out last evening due to a dispute over the installation of posters of the inauguration of the Valmiki statue in front of the house of BJP MLA Janardhan Reddy. The dispute led to riots and stone-pelting between supporters of Janardhana Reddy and supporters of the city MLA. There was also firing and a man named Rajashekhar was killed in the accidental firing. The deceased was taken to the hospital. The postmortem has been completed. In his complaint, 47-year-old Chanala Shekhar said that MLA Bharat Reddy has been carrying out several development works in the city, including roads and public projects. Under this, a grand event was held to unveil the statue of Valmiki near SP Circle. On January 1, between 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm, the accused Janardhan Reddy, Somashekhar Reddy and others damaged the banners put up near Janardhan Reddy's house. After this, the clash between the two groups turned violent.