Over two dozen labourers and some employees of an MNC allegedly vandalised Hoysala patrol cars when police tried to stop them from fighting among themselves.
The incident occurred at a labourers' quarters on Ballari Road on May 2.
The labourers, who hail from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and other states, were angry that the company had neither paid their wages nor arranged for their transport back home.
Police intervened after receiving a complaint that hundreds of people had gathered in defiance of the social-distancing norms around 2.30 pm. They found about 500 people, most of them labourers living in the quarters, had gathered outside. They were arguing with their supervisors why no transport was arranged to send them home.
Using the public address system, police asked the labourers to submit their documents to the supervisors and promised the government would arrange for their transport back home.
A group of 30 labourers then told the police they hadn't been paid for the past one-and-a-half months or provided with essential items. They asked the police to solve their problem or stop interfering in their matter.
When the cops sought time to address their concerns and tried to disperse them, the labourers allegedly pelted them with stones and damaged the patrol cars.
When the cops asked the supervisors to pay the labourers, they told them not to interfere in their "internal matter". An argument ensued, and the supervisors and the labourers pelted stones at the patrol cars and assaulted two cops. A handheld device used by the police was also damaged. "We have booked the company's staff and the labourers but no one has been arrested," police said.