The Sorab police arrested 10 persons who are said to be affiliated to the JD(S) in connection with an assault on a BJP worker in Otur village during the elections.
After exercising his franchise, the BJP activist, Basavaraj, visited the house of his friend Manjunath. Several JD(S) activists were also there, seeking Mr. Manjunath’s vote.
A verbal argument erupted between Mr. Basavaraj and the JD(S) activists. According to the police, Mr. Basavaraj, his brother Kalyan Kumar and sister-in-law Sheela were assaulted by the JD(S) activists.
Mr. Basavaraj was seriously injured and later admitted to hospital. Polling was disrupted for 20 minutes owing to the incident. Additional police forces rushed to the village and brought the situation under control.
The BJP activists staged a protest before Sorab police station on Thursday evening, demanding that stern action be taken against the miscreants responsible. Based on a complaint lodged by Mr. Basavaraj, the police have arrested Krishnappa, Rangappa, Lakshmanappa, Umesh, Raghupati, Nagaraj, Ramappa, Danappa, Hanumanthappa and Lokeshappa, all reportedly JD(S) activists.
BJP district president and Rajya Sabha member Ayanur Manjunath condemned the incident. The assault shows the level of frustration among JD(S) activists, he claimed, alleging that they were trying to intimidate the people of the taluk. Mr. Manjunath also demanded a probe into the incident.
