Ballari: Ballari witnessed fresh political tension after police registered an FIR against 11 people, including MLA Janardhan Reddy and former minister B Sriramulu, in connection with the violent clash that erupted over the installation of banners ahead of the Valmiki statue unveiling programme.

The case has been registered at the Brucepet Police Station following the January 1 incident near Janardhan Reddy’s residence in Havambhavi area of Ballari city. Apart from Janardhan Reddy and Sriramulu, the FIR names Somasekhar Reddy, Ali Khan, Dammur Shekhar, Motkar Srinivas, Prakash Reddy, Ramanna, Palanna, Divakar and Maruti Prasad as accused.

According to the police, the clash broke out when a group attempted to install banners in front of Janardhan Reddy’s house as part of publicity for the Valmiki statue unveiling scheduled for January 3. What began as a verbal argument soon escalated into stone-pelting between supporters of Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy and supporters of Janardhan Reddy, creating panic in the area.

As the situation worsened, former minister Sriramulu and Congress MLA Bharath Reddy’s close aide Satish Reddy arrived at the spot. Heated exchanges followed, prompting the police to resort to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. Despite this, stone-pelting continued from both sides.

During the chaos, firing was reported, allegedly involving private gunmen. Police also fired in the air to bring the situation under control. In the incident, Congress worker Rajashekhar died due to a gunshot injury, while several others, including police personnel, sustained injuries. Satish Reddy, a supporter of Bharath Reddy, suffered serious injuries and has been shifted to a private hospital in Bengaluru for treatment.

Following the violence, the police imposed prohibitory orders within a 200-metre radius of Janardhan Reddy’s residence to prevent further disturbances. Security in and around the area has been significantly tightened.

Reacting to the incident, MLA Nara Bharath Reddy alleged that his party worker was killed due to violence unleashed by Janardhan Reddy’s supporters and demanded the immediate arrest of those involved. He also claimed that there had been attempts for over a month to disrupt the Valmiki statue unveiling programme and that the clash was part of that effort.

Former minister Sriramulu, however, denied any involvement in firing. He stated that both he and Janardhan Reddy have government-provided gunmen and asserted that none of them had fired shots.

He demanded a forensic examination of the bullets to determine the source of firing, claiming that technology would reveal the truth. Janardhan Reddy’s supporters, meanwhile, argued that they had objected only because banners were put up directly in front of the residence, causing traffic obstruction, and accused the other group of deliberately provoking trouble.

Investigations are ongoing as police work to identify those responsible for the firing and violence.