Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Friday said many "unseen hands" including certain organisations were behind the recent violence in Hubballi, over a social media post, and they will be brought to justice.

He also said that the government was contemplating on controlling activities of such organisations including imposing a ban on them.

"The Hubballi incident was to incite large-scale violence there, as our police acted immediately, the situation was brought under control in a couple of hours. The Maulvi (who allegedly instigated the mob) was arrested on Thursday, investigations are on to find who were behind the incident and organisations that were involved," Jnanendra said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, there will be a thorough inquiry as there are many unseen hands involved. "Innocent people were incited and sent on to the streets to indulge in violence. Some people are trying to create unrest in the society against a particular community and some organisations are involved in it. We are aware who they are and we will find them...thinking is on in all aspects like-to ban and control them. We want peace and stability and all communities to co-exist," he added.

Further alleging Congress' appeasement policy as the reason for communal issues, the Minister said, these are the trees that have grown from the seeds sown by that party.

A mob allegedly went on a rampage damaging many police vehicles, a hospital and a Hanuman temple in the old town of Hubballi and injured some police officers on duty over a social media post on April 16.

According to police sources, it was allegedly following a social media post of a digitally altered image of a Bhagwa (saffron) flag flying over a masjid.

'Muezzin' Wasim Pathan, the cleric, who is facing charges of instigating the mob for violence, was arrested on Thursday. According to the information last available, the number of people arrested in the case, so far, has gone up to 134.

Karnataka DG & IGP Praveen Sood said strict action will be taken against all those directly or indirectly involved in the violence and no one will be spared.

"All those directly or indirectly involved and conspiracy angle if any will be found and they will be brought to justice. We have arrested all those directly involved and time is required to arrest all those indirectly involved, as technical investigation has to take place," he said.

Warning against attacking police or police stations, the DGP said, if there is a complaint, police will take it and act, instead of that showing anger against the men in uniform is not right.

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New Delhi (PTI): To beef up the security infrastructure of ports, the government will set up a statutory body -- the Bureau of Port Security -- that will ensure timely analysis, collection and exchange of security-related information of ports and vessels, officials said on Friday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday convened a meeting for the constitution of the dedicated body, the Bureau of Port Security (BoPS), which was attended by the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, and the Minister of Civil Aviation, Ram Mohan Naidu, an official statement said.

Emphasising that there is a need to establish a country-wide robust port security framework, Shah directed that security measures should be implemented in a graded and risk-based manner, taking into account vulnerabilities, trade potential, location, and other relevant parameters.

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The meeting also noted that lessons learned from the maritime security framework shall be replicated in the aviation security domain, the statement said.

The new body, modelled on the lines of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), will be constituted as a statutory body under the new Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, and will work under the aegis of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), it said.

Headed by a senior IPS officer as its director general, the BoPS will be responsible for regulatory and oversight functions relating to the security of ships and port facilities.

"During the transition period of one year, the director general of shipping shall function as the director general of BoPS," the statement said.

"The BoPS will ensure timely analysis, collection and exchange of security-related information, with a special focus on cybersecurity, including a dedicated division to safeguard port IT infrastructure from digital threats," it said.

The government has designated the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) as a recognised security organisation (RSO), responsible for undertaking security assessments and preparation of security plans for port facilities.

The Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) will train and build the capacities of private security agencies (PSAs) engaged in port security.

"These agencies shall be certified and appropriate regulatory measures shall be introduced to ensure that only the licensed PSAs operate in this sector," the statement said.