On the night of 20 February 2022, Bajrang Dal activist Harsha, known locally as Harsha Hindu, was stabbed to death in Shivamogga, Karnataka, at the height of the state's hijab row. His funeral procession the next day was followed by stone-pelting and arson in several parts of the city, and the administration imposed a curfew and shut schools for a week. Ten men were arrested, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the case under the anti-terror law UAPA, and the trial was at the evidence stage in late 2024. No verdict had been reported by October 2026.
Key takeaways
- Stone-pelting and arson broke out during and after Harsha's funeral procession in Shivamogga on 21 February 2022; police counted 18 to 20 vehicles torched and eight people injured, while some reports gave higher figures.
- Muslim residents of Shivamogga told The News Minute that mobs following the funeral procession attacked their neighbourhoods while police did not intervene effectively.
- The NIA chargesheet of September 2022 charged eight of 10 accused under UAPA and alleges they killed Harsha to create fear among Hindus; early police reports had pointed to an older local rivalry.
- The Harsha murder trial in the NIA special court was at the evidence stage in December 2024, and no verdict had been reported by October 2026.
Background: the hijab row
In early 2022 a group of Muslim students in Udupi said they were refused entry to classes while wearing the hijab. Some Hindu students responded by wearing saffron scarves, and the dispute spread to colleges across Karnataka TNM. Shivamogga had seen protests over the hijab, and counter-protests, earlier in February TNM.
A government order of 5 February 2022 effectively allowed colleges to bar the hijab. The Karnataka High Court later upheld it. On 13 October 2022 a two-judge Supreme Court bench delivered a split verdict and referred the appeals to the Chief Justice for a larger bench South First Bar and Bench.
The killing on 20 February
Harsha, a tailor from Seegehatti, was attacked at about 9:30 pm on 20 February at Ravi Varma Lane in Bharathi Colony. He died at McGann Hospital The Wire Deccan Herald. Outlets reported his age variously as 23, 26, 27 and 28. Deccan Herald named him Harsha Nagaraj alias Harsha Hindu, aged 27 Deccan Herald.
Superintendent of Police B M Laxmi Prasad confirmed two cases against Harsha from 2016 and 2017, for causing communal riots and hurting religious sentiments Deccan Herald. The Indian Express, cited by The Wire, reported at least five cases of assault and attempt to murder The Wire.
Deputy Commissioner R Selvamani imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC across the city and declared a holiday for schools and colleges The Wire. Residents of Nalbandwadi told TNM that stone-pelting in Muslim-majority areas began that night TNM.
The funeral procession and the violence
On 21 February the body was taken in procession from McGann Hospital to the Rotary crematorium at Vidyanagar. Minister K S Eshwarappa, the Shivamogga MLA, and MP B Y Raghavendra joined it PTI via EastMojo. The Quint reported that over 5,000 people joined; a TNM report, as summarised by Madhyamam, estimated about 600 The Quint Madhyamam.
Stones were thrown near NT Road, and Azadnagar, Vidyanagar, Clarkpet and Seegehatti were the worst-affected areas, according to Deccan Herald Deccan Herald. AFP reported that mobs stoned business premises reportedly owned by Muslims, and that police fired in the air and used tear gas AFP via Aaj News. Police used lathis, and a police vehicle was set on fire TNM.
How much damage: the figures
- Police, 21 Feb: at least 20 vehicles damaged and a few set on fire; three injured, including a photojournalist and a policewoman Deccan Herald.
- SP Laxmi Prasad, 22 Feb: nine FIRs and 13 cases; 18 vehicles torched; eight injured IANS via Madhyamam. Deccan Herald reported the same briefing as nine FIRs, 14 cases and around 20 vehicles torched Deccan Herald.
- ADGP Pratap Reddy, 22 Feb: 14 incidents, with three FIRs filed by then The Quint.
- Higher estimates: about 20 injured (AFP, Scroll) AFP Scroll. Sabrang India, citing Deccan Herald, reported around 100 vehicles set on fire; this page could not verify that figure in the original Sabrang India.
No official count of damaged shops or homes was found. Five more vehicles were torched in Tunganagar police station limits early on 22 February Deccan Herald.
Curfew, schools and security
Section 144, schools shut
Prohibitory orders imposed across the city, schools and colleges closed The Wire.
Curfew extended
Curfew extended till Friday morning, with essentials allowed from 6 am to 9 am. About 1,200 police were deployed, including 20 KSRP platoons and a Rapid Action Force unit. City buses were suspended Deccan Herald.
Shops reopen
Businesses allowed to open from 6 am to 7 pm ETV Bharat.
Schools reopen
Schools and colleges reopened after a week. Orders barring groups of more than five were extended to 4 March ETV Bharat.
Arrests
Police arrested two men on 21 February and six by 22 February. The SP said four were directly involved in the assault and two in the conspiracy and support The Quint. Two more arrests on 24 February, of Abdul Roshan and Jaffer Sadiq, took the total to 10 Deccan Herald.
Claim · Police sources Police sources told Deccan Herald that Harsha and accused Mohammed Kashif had fought over communally offensive social media posts about six months earlier, and that this could be the main reason for the killing Deccan Herald. The Quint reported that Kashif had been in prison with Harsha in 2017 The Quint.
Jnanendra said those who threw stones would face action ETV Bharat. Riot arrest figures were not found.
What politicians said
Claim · K S Eshwarappa On 21 February Eshwarappa alleged that Muslim "goondas" were behind the murder. He linked it to remarks by state Congress president D K Shivakumar on the flag row PTI via EastMojo. Police had not then confirmed a motive Sabrang India.
Claim · BJP leaders BJP general secretary B L Santosh alleged Harsha was killed for opposing the hijab in colleges. Revenue Minister R Ashoka said a link with the hijab row was "evident" TNM. MP Tejasvi Surya sought UAPA charges The Quint. State BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel said the accused should be "encountered" IANS via Madhyamam.
Claim · Congress leaders Shivakumar said there was information the murder "might have been due to personal issue" PTI via EastMojo. He alleged that Eshwarappa had backed the stone-pelting and violated prohibitory orders by joining the procession. Congress working president Satish Jarkiholi called the murder "politically motivated" ETV Bharat. Opposition leader Siddaramaiah also faulted Eshwarappa for joining, and said the PFI, SDPI and CFI should be banned if their role was found IANS via Madhyamam.
The SDPI challenged the BJP to establish its role and said Muslims were blamed whenever a Hindu activist was killed TNM. Harsha's sister appealed on local channels for no violence Sabrang India.
On 8 April 2022, on the orders of a special court in Bengaluru, Doddapete police registered a case against Eshwarappa and BJP corporator S N Channabasappa under IPC sections including 153A and 295A over their statements. The complainant said local police had earlier refused to register it Deccan Herald. The outcome of that case was not found.
Both accounts of the violence
Muslim residents' account
Residents told The News Minute that mobs following the procession entered Muslim localities such as Urdu Bazaar and Azad Nagar, and that police were few and did not stop them. A madrasa was stoned with about 20 children inside, according to eyewitnesses. A woman said she was hit by a stone while three police officers stood about 200 metres away Madhyamam, citing TNM. Constables told TNM they were told not to use excessive force, and were outnumbered Madhyamam, citing TNM.
Police and government account
ADGP Murugan said separate cases would be filed over property damage and that action would be taken against anyone involved, "whether it is a Hindu or a Muslim" PTI via EastMojo. ADGP (law and order) C Pratap Reddy said extra forces were rushed in so the fallout did not spread TNM. The state government blamed the local administration for allowing the procession The Quint, and Jnanendra ordered an inquiry into how officers in two police stations had monitored the accused Scroll.
The Bommai government's position and compensation
Government's position Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said it was "more than a murder" and that probe agencies would find the "invisible" hands behind it TNM. Jnanendra first said there was no link to the hijab row, then said organisations behind the row were "under the scanner" The Quint. He said there was no proposal to ban the PFI or SDPI IANS via TNM.
The government announced Rs 25 lakh for Harsha's family on 3 March and handed over the cheque on 6 March. Eshwarappa said an online campaign had raised over Rs 60 lakh for Harsha's mother TNM. In June 2023 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the BJP government had compensated and given jobs only to the families of Harsha and Praveen Nettaru, and paid Rs 25 lakh each to six other families of communal violence victims PTI via Deccan Herald.
The UAPA and the NIA case
On 7 March 2022 Karnataka police invoked UAPA against the 10 accused, citing a suspected larger conspiracy IANS via TNM. The NIA registered its FIR on 23 March and took over the probe Deccan Herald.
The NIA filed its chargesheet against 10 accused around the start of September 2022. Eight were charged with murder, conspiracy and promoting enmity under the IPC and sections 16, 18, 18B and 20 of UAPA. Two were charged with harbouring offenders South First.
Claim · NIA chargesheet The NIA says the eight "formed themselves into a terrorist gang" to kill Harsha "in order to create fear among the section of Hindu community". It says they developed hatred towards Hindus during the CAA-NRC protests, the hijab controversy and Bajrang Dal cow protection activities, and picked Harsha as a prominent Hindu leader. The agency cites witness statements, recovered weapons, CCTV footage, forensic reports and call records South First. These allegations have not been tested at trial.
Bail and trial
On 1 June 2022 the NIA special court refused bail to accused number 10, Jafer Sadiq. Prosecutor P Prasanna Kumar argued that there was no animosity between Harsha and the accused and that the motive was to terrorise Hindus Deccan Herald. In July 2023 a Karnataka High Court division bench rejected the bail appeal of accused number 8, Faraz Pasha. It said the accused "appear to be communal fanatics" who "had no personal enmity" against Harsha Deccan Herald. These were bail findings on a prima facie basis, not a verdict.
In December 2024 the trial was at the evidence stage. A former petrol station worker who testified on 12 December reported threats telling him not to testify, and police registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita News Karnataka.
Outcome
- Injuries in the riot: 3 on 21 Feb per police, 8 in hospital per the SP on 22 Feb; about 20 per AFP and Scroll.
- Property: 18 to 20 vehicles torched per police; shops, homes and a madrasa damaged per reports.
- Cases: 9 FIRs over the violence by 22 Feb; FIR against Eshwarappa on court order in April 2022.
- Murder arrests: 10; 8 charged under UAPA by the NIA.
- Restrictions: Section 144, then curfew; schools shut until 28 February.
- Compensation: Rs 25 lakh from the state; Siddaramaiah later said the Bommai government also gave the family a job.
What is still pending
No verdict in the NIA trial, and no trial reporting after December 2024, was found up to October 2026. The status of the riot cases and the Eshwarappa case was not found, nor any ruling by a Supreme Court larger bench on the hijab appeals.
Questions people ask
Who was Harsha Hindu?
A Bajrang Dal activist and tailor from Seegehatti in Shivamogga, aged 23 to 28 in different reports, stabbed to death on 20 February 2022. Police said he had faced earlier cases for rioting and hurting religious sentiments.
Why was Harsha killed?
That is contested. Early police sources pointed to an old rivalry with one accused. The NIA alleges the accused killed him to create fear among Hindus; this is the prosecution's case and has not been proven in court.
Was there a curfew in Shivamogga?
Yes. Section 144 was imposed on 20 to 21 February and a curfew followed. Shops reopened on 26 February and schools on 28 February.
Has anyone been convicted?
No conviction had been reported by October 2026. The trial was at the evidence stage in December 2024.
Sources
- Deccan Herald: Stones hurled at funeral procession of Bajrang Dal worker, vehicles set afire, 21 Feb 2022
- PTI via EastMojo: Bajrang Dal activist stabbed to death, funeral procession turns violent, 21 Feb 2022
- The Wire: Karnataka Bajrang Dal activist killed, prohibitory orders clamped, 21 Feb 2022
- TNM: Shivamogga Bajrang Dal leader's death, three arrested, 21 Feb 2022
- TNM: Six arrested for Bajrang Dal leader Harsha's murder, 22 Feb 2022
- The Quint: 6 arrested for Bajrang Dal man's murder, 22 Feb 2022
- IANS via Madhyamam: Curfew extended till Friday, arrests rise to 6, 22 Feb 2022
- ETV Bharat: 12 taken into custody, 22 Feb 2022
- AFP via Aaj News: 20 injured in India riots after Hindu activist killed, 22 Feb 2022
- Sabrang India: Shivamogga, 20 injured in violence during Bajrang Dal member's funeral, 22 Feb 2022
- Deccan Herald: Six arrested for Bajrang Dal activist's murder, 23 Feb 2022
- Scroll: Two more arrested for Bajrang Dal member's murder, 23 Feb 2022
- Deccan Herald: Two more arrested, number rises to 10, 25 Feb 2022
- Madhyamam (citing The News Minute): Shivamogga riot, Muslims in anxiety, Feb 2022
- ETV Bharat: Schools, colleges reopen in Shivamogga after one week, 28 Feb 2022
- TNM: Karnataka govt gives Rs 25 lakh compensation to Harsha's kin, 6 Mar 2022
- IANS via TNM: Karnataka invokes UAPA against accused, 8 Mar 2022
- Deccan Herald: NIA to probe Harsha murder case, 24 Mar 2022
- The Quint: NIA takes over murder case of Harsha, 24 Mar 2022
- Deccan Herald: FIR registered against Eshwarappa for provocative statements, 8 Apr 2022
- Deccan Herald: NIA court rejects bail to accused, 1 June 2022
- Deccan Herald: NIA team searches houses of suspects, 30 June 2022
- South First: NIA charge sheet in Harsha murder case, 6 Sept 2022
- South First: Split verdict by Supreme Court in hijab ban case, 13 Oct 2022
- Bar and Bench: Hijab ban, Supreme Court delivers split judgment, 13 Oct 2022
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Families of communal violence victims get Rs 25 lakh, 19 June 2023
- Deccan Herald: HC denies bail to accused number 8, 4 July 2023
- News Karnataka: Witness intimidation in Harsha murder case, 19 Dec 2024