The police have booked four, an adult and three minors, in connection with what was said an assault on a fellow classmate during a cultural festival in a private college in Belagavi.
Police Commissioner M.B. Boralingaiah issued a press release saying that appropriate legal measures are being taken in connection with the incident.
The incident had led to some tension after pro-Kannada organisations termed it “an attack by non-Kannada groups on a Kannada-speaking boy who was trying to dance with the Kannada flag on his shoulder”. However, the police denied it.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Ravindra Gadadi, who investigated the incident, said that language was not the reason behind the spat. “It was a trivial reason, one boy stepping on the toes of the other. Both the accused and the victim are Kannada speakers. Both are minors,’‘ he said.
Some Kannada Rakshana Vedike activists staged a protest on Thursday in front of Gogte Commerce College where the incident took place. They hoisted a Kannada flag on the college gates and staged a rasta roko.
Meanwhile, Janata Dal(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy has said that the police assaulted the victim in the case.
Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) Alok Kumar responded saying that the incident is being investigated by Inspector-General of Police (Northern Range) N. Satish Kumar.
Speaking in Hubballi on Friday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai denied the Janata Dal(S) leader’s allegation.
And, a youth activist, Sarala Satpute, shared pictures of police removing Kannada flags from houses in Lakshmi Nagar in Belagavi. She said that in the name of law and order, the police are hurting the sentiments of Kannada speakers.
Also, Kannada Rakshana Vedike leader T.A. Narayana Gowda said that the police forcibly removed Kannada flags from houses and public places. He warned that if this is not stopped immediately, he and his supporters will go to Belagavi and hoist Kannada flags across the city.
