A member of the Muslim community offers buttermilk to a Hindu devotee during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in Kadapa on Tuesday, as Kadapa Superintendent of Police Nachiket Vishwanath Shelke looks on.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Communal harmony returned to Kadapa city on Tuesday (May 12, 2026), three days after two communities were involved in mob violence and stone-pelting on Saturday (May 9, 2026) allegedly over the naming of a city circle after a leader from one community.
A religious procession was taken out in the city on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti on Tuesday, which became the occasion for the display of camaraderie and brotherhood between the two communities.
As a goodwill gesture, members of the minority community offered buttermilk to participants in the procession.
District Collector Sridhar Cherukuri and Superintendent of Police Nachiket Vishwanath Shelke had brought the two groups to the negotiating table, defused the tense situation and settled the dispute through talks.
Kadapa MLA R. Madhavi Reddy had accused anti-social elements of having a role in fomenting trouble in the city, which has otherwise been known for religious coexistence and communal harmony.
Even as the Hanuman Jayanti procession was widely feared to stoke trouble once again, the heavy deployment of police personnel, preventive detention of suspected troublemakers and pre-emptive negotiations with community leaders helped ease the situation.
Published – May 13, 2026 08:28 am IST
