The situation in the old city in Belagavi that witnessed two unrelated stone pelting incidents, is back to normal. Four bikes and five autorickshaws were damaged in the stone pelting.
The first began on Sunday night when someone alleged that a marriage procession passing through a narrow alley near a place of worship removed a flag. A group of young men objected to this, saying this was done on purpose to hurt their feelings. They were confronted with another group, soon after the procession ended and they threw stones on each other.
The second happened a few hours later, when a bike rider picked up a quarrel with young men playing on the road. The players and the bike rider’s friends threw stones on each other, damaging their vehicles.
Police forces were stationed in the old city areas to maintain law and order. Police arrested 27 youths in connection with the two incidents.
On Monday, former BJP MLA Abhay Patil led a crowd to the Shahapur police station seeking arrest of youth involved in stone pelting. When the group tried to barge into the station, Mr. Patil was detained for a few hours.
At around the same time, another group stormed the police station gates saying police had arrested innocent youth and demanded their release. Police dispersed the group by clarifying that no innocent person had been arrested.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Amarnath Reddy said the situation was under control and normalcy had returned to the old city areas.
