Vijayanagar

In a clear message to elements aiming to foment trouble in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai warned that no one should dare to take law into their hands.

Reacting to the communal tension that erupted in Hubli, also called Hubballi on Saturday night, the chief minister said that the state government would not tolerate it.

Bommai was speaking to media persons on Sunday ahead of the BJP State Executive meeting here.

"The police are already taking action. Police will not hesitate to take stringent action against those who take law into their hands. We will act against those who instigated it too. Let us not give political colours to it. We should look at it as a law and order issue. Then only such incidents will stop," Bommai said.

Police have arrested 40 people in connection with the violence that erupted after an objectionable social media post surfaced in Hubli city.

Hundreds of people belonging to minority community came onto streets and indulged in violence late Saturday. Soon, the incident took a communal turn and two groups indulged in stone pelting in the city.

"In Hubballi yesterday some elements took law into their hands. Though the police had arrested the person who had posted a Whatsapp message, some people assembled in front of a police station and incited trouble. Some policemen too were injured in the incident. Later stone pelting too has happened in some parts of old Hubballi which is an unpardonable crime," Bommai said.

The violence in Hubballi is the latest development in a series of controversies that have fuelled communal polarisation in Karnataka.