Heated exchange of words, followed by an exchange of blows between two individuals over a personal issue took on a communal colour, leading to tension in Kanyana near Bantwal, 40 km away from Mangaluru, on Monday night.
According to police, Radhakrishna (30) stopped Haneef (30) and questioned him for teasing a girl. There was heated exchange of words and Radhakrishna allegedly slapped Haneef. Haneef went to his house and then went to Radhakrishna’s house with a group of people and allegedly assaulted him. The police claim that the group then went around Kanyana, threw glass bottles on a few shops in the village and forced shopkeepers to down their shutters.
Additional police force was deployed to maintain peace in Kanyana, which is among the areas in Bantwal taluk where prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been in force since May 26 following the assault of a 21-year-old man in Kalladka.
Bantwal police said Haneef has filed a complaint that he was attacked by a group that was not happy with his trade of transporting cows. A counter complaint has also been filed against Haneef, the police added.
