Tension prevailed in Brahmavar town for some time Saturday morning as Bajrang Dal activists tried to enforce a “bandh”, leading to an altercation between them and supporters of the Congress party.
The police resorted to mild lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.
According to the police, the situation became tense when Bajrang Dal activists tried to forcibly down shutters to protest against the arrest of one of their activists, Hiriyadka Dinesh Mendon, at around 10 a.m.
But since some shopkeepers did not respond to the call, the activists stoned a travel agency and a police jeep at Kunjal Junction and tried to ransack cloth shop near the Bus Stand.
The supporters of Congress party, who arrived on the spot, questioned the forcible methods being used by the Bajrang Dal activists to close down shops. K. Jayaprakash Hegde, Udupi-Chikmagalur MP, and Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, visited the Brahmavar police station and urged the police to take legal action against the guilty.
The business establishments, which were closed for some time in the morning, later opened and functioned as usual. Buses and auto rickshaws too functioned as usual.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Prabhudev Mane told The Hindu that the situation was peaceful in Brahmavar. A platoon of the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) and two parties of District Armed Reserve Police had been stationed in Brahmavar as a precautionary measure, he said.
As many as three cases had been registered against Bajrang Dal leader Sunil and 50 others at the Brahmavar police station on charges including rioting and unlawful assembly.
“We have already arrested two persons – Anil and Ganesh, we are on the lookout for the others,” he said.
