Ballari violence: Janardhan Reddy alleges assassination bid during Valmiki banner clash

A dispute over banner installation ahead of a Valmiki statue unveiling in Ballari spiralled into serious violence on Thursday night, with Gangavati MLA and former minister G Janardhan Reddy alleging that four rounds were fired at him in an attempted assassination outside his residence.

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The incident occurred in the Awambhavi area of Ballari when tensions flared between two rival groups over the installation of banners for the January 3 statue unveiling programme. What began as a dispute soon spiralled into stone-pelting, scuffles and alleged firing, prompting police to resort to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.

Banner clash turns violent

According to police sources, the confrontation broke out when supporters of Congress MLA Nara Bharat Reddy attempted to put up a banner in front of Janardhan Reddy’s house. Staff and supporters at the residence objected, leading to a heated exchange that quickly escalated into violence.

As news of the clash spread, senior leaders from both sides rushed to the spot. Former minister B Sriramulu arrived at Janardhan Reddy’s residence, while Satish Reddy, an associate of MLA Nara Bharat Reddy, reached the area along with his supporters. With hundreds of people gathering simultaneously, the situation went out of control, resulting in intense pushing, shoving and stone-pelting.

Police intervened to bring the situation under control, but stones were allegedly hurled at security personnel as well. Eventually, police carried out a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd. Supporters from both sides sustained injuries during the clashes, police said. Senior officers later visited the spot, and heavy police deployment has been put in place to prevent further unrest.

Reddy alleges assassination bid

Alleging an attempt on his life, Janardhan Reddy later told reporters that the violence was not accidental but a “planned conspiracy” to kill him. He claimed that he was attacked moments after arriving at his residence from Gangavati.

“They came right up to my house and fired four rounds at me. This was done with the intention of eliminating me politically and physically,” Reddy alleged, directly accusing Ballari city MLA Nara Bharat Reddy and his father Suryanarayana Reddy of orchestrating the attack.

Reddy further claimed that Satish Reddy and his gunmen opened fire using the banner dispute as a pretext. He displayed what he said was a bullet recovered from the scene before the media.

Calling the incident “violence in the name of the Valmiki statue unveiling”, Janardhan Reddy alleged that miscreants were being unleashed to destabilise Ballari ahead of the event. “Under the guise of a sacred programme, attempts are being made to set the city on fire,” he said.

Police probe underway

Following the incident, Ballari remains in a tense, simmering situation. There are also reports that a Congress worker was killed after being hit by a bullet.

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"The situation was brought under control and additional security has been deployed. At present, the situation remains peaceful and all precautionary measures have been taken to ensure that no untoward incident occurs," a senior police officer said. Police said investigations are underway to ascertain the sequence of events and verify the allegations.

The Valmiki statue unveiling is scheduled to take place in Ballari on January 3, with elaborate security arrangements now being planned in the wake of Thursday night’s violence.

(This article was originally published in The Federal Karnataka)