Tension prevailed at Balehalli, near Aldur, in Chikkamagaluru taluk when two groups clashed over holding a harvest ( suggi ) festival on Wednesday. Policemen who tried to restore peace also suffered injuries in the incident. Aldur police have taken 16 people into custody on the charges of assaulting police personnel and obstructing them from discharging their duty. According to a release issued by Superintendent of Police R. Chetan, Aldur sub-inspector Prakash and his staff visited the village after learning about the clash between residents of Balehalli Colony and Krishnappa Extension. When they were trying to calm down the groups, a man hit Mr. Prakash with a stick. The residents obstructed policemen from discharging their duty, the release said.
The police have taken Mahesh (35), Rudraiah (47), Eeraiah (35), Sandeep (20), Dinesh (22), Gangadhar (23), Satish (20), Vasanth Kumar (21), Vishwanath (24), Kumar (23), Mahesh Kumar (25), Jagadish (22), Gurumurthy (23), Manjunath (24), Neelaiah (41), and Kumar (40) into custody.
