The Kannada Rakshana Vedike (KRV) activists attacked office-bearers and kabaddi players of Karnataka State Kabaddi Association at the annual general body meeting and elections on Sunday.

Police resorted to a mild lathi charge to bring the situation under control. They arrested 10 persons, including Prasanna Kumar Shetty of KRV, on charges of assaulting the office-bearers.

Five persons sustained minor injuries in the incident. They were treated as out-patients in a private hospital, police said.

According to eye-witnesses, KRV (Shivarame Gowda faction) members barged into the stadium when a meeting of the newly-elected office-bearers was on. They were busy electing the new vice-president of the Association.
KRV activists barged inside and raised slogans against the returning officer. They alleged the Association had meted out injustice to Kannadigas and ransacked the furniture.

“The Association has been giving priority to Tamils, and not Kannadigas. We were there inside the stadium to protest this attitude. When we were protesting, some persons tried to assault our workers without any reason,” KRV office-bearer Prasanna Kumar said.

“KRV activists’ allegations are baseless. There are 95 per cent Kannadigas in our association. But still,  KRV activists assaulted the newly-elected officer-bearers without any provocation. They splashed paint on the faces of a few office-bearers and took away important files. We were forced to register a complaint,” former Association secretary Sitaram said.

“Our association has 84 clubs in 14 districts. Most of the office-bearers are Kannadigas. We have never meted out injustice to Kannadigas,” he said.