Activists of the Bajrang Dal and members of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a rasta roko at the Triveni Circle here on Friday in protest against the murder of Bajrang Dal activist Deepak Rao at Katipalla on the outskirts of Mangaluru in Dakshina Kannada district recently.
Addressing the protesters, K. Raghupati Bhat, BJP leader and former MLA, said that he had visited the house of Deepak Rao.
The poor state of law and order in the State, especially Dakshina Kannada, could be gauged by the fact that murders were taking place either during or before the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s visit.
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These murders in Dakshina Kannada were taking places in constituencies represented by Congress MLAs. Instead of taking stern measures to prevent such murders, the Siddaramaiah government had been a mute spectator to it, Mr. Bhat said.
Sheela K. Shetty, vice-president of the zilla panchayat, alleged that the murders of the Hindu activists in the State were taking place due to the tacit backing of the ruling party.
“Is there any government in the State? Are the Hindus not having the right to live? The government should explain what action it has taken on the murder of the Hindu activists,” Ms. Shetty said.
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On account of the protest, some buses in the city were diverted. As the protesters squatted on the road, the police had to forcefully evict them. The protestors were taken into preventive custody and later released.