Mysuru Police Ban Gatherings Near Mahishasura Statue Ahead of Dasara Event

Mysuru city police have placed a 200‑metre prohibitory zone around the Mahishasura statue atop Chamundi Hills from midnight on Oct 9 until 6 a.m. on Oct 11. Commissioner Seema Latkar issued the order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, citing intelligence that some groups might protest the planned Mahisha Dasara celebrations. The ban aims to stop the Mahisha Mandalotsava Organising Committee from garlanding the Mahishasura statue at 8:30 a.m. on Oct 10, a ceremony the committee’s president Purushotham had requested permission for. The same day the committee also sought to garland a statue of B.R. Ambedkar in Town Hall at 11 a.m. and hold a stage programme. Police officials said supporters and opponents of the event could converge from different directions, risking a breakdown of law and order. The order warns that any group or individual who holds a meeting, procession, protest or rally inside the restricted radius will be treated as an unlawful assembly and will face legal action. The Mahisha Dasara event was scheduled a day before the start of the Dasara festival on Oct 11, which normally draws large crowds to Chamundi Hills.

Context

The Mahishasura statue is a focal point of a controversial reinterpretation of the myth, while Chamundi Hills is a major pilgrimage site during Dasara. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita provides police the power to restrict gatherings to prevent public disorder.