Karnataka govt seeks 1600 paramilitary personnel from Centre

Karnataka government has sought 1,600 central paramilitary personnel for deployment during Tipu Sultan Jayanti, which is expected to face protests from some organisations.

The state government has requested the Union Home Ministry to provide 16 companies (100 personnel in each company) of paramilitary force, official sources said.

However, the Home Ministry is yet to take a final decision on how many of the paramilitary personnel would be made available for Karnataka.

The Tipu Jayanti celebration for the second time will be held on November 10. However, there are opposition to it from certain groups belonging to Karnataka’s Kodagu district, the epicentre of last year’s protests where two men were killed.

The Karnataka High Court is also hearing a petition seeking cancellation of the planned celebrations. The petitioner, who is a farmer from Kodagu, said in the court that Tipu Sultan was a “tyrant, bigot and had massacred hundreds of people” from his district.